LAC LA BICHE - Northeastern Alberta's premiere winter event is racing back to the frozen ice surface of La La Biche Lake.
The Winter Festival of Speed and the Western Canadian Ice Racing Championships are green-flagged to take place over the March 5 weekend after a two year absence.
Race weekend organizer Ken Staples is back behind the driver's seat with a crew of volunteers to put the high-speed, high-energy weekend together.
A racer himself — on the summer and winter circuits — Staples has more than 35 years of experience hosting the event through the Lac La Biche-based Classic Wheels Club.
"It's been tough to sit back for the last couple of years as the pandemic has thrown a wrench into the races," Staples told Lakeland This Week. "We need to get back to racing and bringing people outside for a fun event that has so much community history."
The Saturday and Sunday races will feature sanctioned race car events, with riders in several different classes tackling the curving track that will be carved into the Lac La Biche lake's frozen surface over the next few weeks. The races will be the final weekend — the championship finals — of the Northern Alberta Sports Car Club's winter race season in the Western Canadian Motorsports Association
The weekend will also feature a stop on the racing circuit for the SSRA's snowmobile drag races. Riders ranging from youngsters to seasoned veterans will race stock to modified sleds down a 660-foot racing chute for a chance at prize money and bragging rights.
But it won't be just cars and sleds flying around the lake.
Airplanes will be flying too ... and landing. Once again, says Staples, the local flying club will be hosting an on-ice fly-in. Planes will land on a large ice runway, leading to a huge parking area where pilots, passengers and visitors can network and mingle.
"It's been a very popular event over the years and our local club and our volunteers run it very well," said Staples, adding that he gets a lot of compliments from people who get a bird's eye view of the entire Winter Festival of Speed as they fly in. "People just can't believe we put all of this onto the lake."
On the ice-level this year, Staples and the organizers are expecting a big turnout for racers and hopefully a big spectator crowd too.
"I know that in the Chevette class this season, there are 40 cars in all their categories, so it will probably be 25 cars in each race," he said.
Other race classes are also seeing an increase in cars, so the return of the Winter racing weekend will be super-super-charged.
And not all the racing will feature sanctioned drivers. Two events will let community members get behind the wheel for some ice race laps.
Cool charity cash
The Charity Race is rolling again this year, with local racers paying for some on-ice training and practice laps in the seat of a Chevette-class ice racer, and then competing in the Sunday afternoon fundraiser. Winners get local bragging rights, a nice trophy and the knowledge that their pedal-to-the-metal fun will translate into fast-cash for worthwhile local charities. Over the years of the annual racing weekend, organizers have distributed more than a quarter million dollars to local charities and organizations.
"We really want to pump up the Charity Race. It's how we help the local community," Staples said.
Another hands-on racing experience over the weekend will see local drivers take their own vehicles on a short-track circuit for a timed-competition. Hosted by the Edmonton Rally Club, the "mini-version of the ice races" — as Staples calls it — will offer local drivers the chance to race the clock on an ice circuit. A well maintained vehicle ready for winter driving, a valid license, a small entry fee, a helmet and an adventurous spirit is all that's needed to take part.
Other ice ice events will see the return of the Alberta Trappers Association for an interactive display of their skills and history. An axe-throwing kiosk will be on site, a snowmobile trail ride and a vintage sled show and shine is also planned. As the weekend is a family-friendly event, an outdoor children's carnival is also being organized.
Since the entire event will be held outside, organizers say COVID pandemic measures will be easier to mandate. With a surface area covering more than five square kilometres, "there's all sorts of room for social distancing," Staples said.
On-ice admission will be $10 a person, with proceeds going towards prize money and local organizations.
Sponsors are also welcome to contribute to the event, said Staples.
Volunteer groups get paid
To make it all run, Staples is hoping to find some volunteers in service groups and organizations who could help out. Volunteer groups are paid for their time.
Anyone wishing to donate, sponsor or volunteer for the Winter Festival of Speed, can contact Staples at 780-404-3183. He says entries for the Charity Race and the Rally Club timed events are limited, so book early.
A schedule with specific race and event times will be released in the coming weeks.
Details can be found at the Lakeland Classic Wheels website and the Lac La Biche Winter Festival of Speed social media pages.
