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On Sunday, a couple hundred people gathered outside the roughly 100-foot lawn of Iron Pier Apartments near the Syracuse Inner Harbor, anticipating the start of the second Winterfest Human Dogsled Race. People converged to the sides of the lawn to watch teams of five people, with four pullers and one rider, race with their own customized sleds.

All proceeds gained from participating racers — who each paid a fee to secure their spot — and raffles went to Helping Hounds Dog Rescue, a nonprofit organization focused on matching unwanted dogs with loving families in the central New York area since 2009. With the help of dedicated staff, volunteers and donations, Helping Hounds Dog Rescue has been able to successfully secure loving homes for over 1,700 dogs.

Angela Paparo, a volunteer from Helping Hounds Dog Rescue, was glad to help host the Winterfest Human Dogsled Race this year, since COVID-19 caused the event to go on a year-long hiatus in 2021. She hopes the race will become a traditional annual event.

“(The event helps) bring a community together — it gets people out and about during the winter, especially during Winterfest,” Paparo said. “We bring volunteers and dogs down, so it gets them some visibility. And it really just gets people out and brings people together. Everybody really seems to be enjoying it.”

Merissa Lynch, the marketing manager of COR Development Company, a real estate company that sponsored the event alongside Pepsi and Meier’s Creek Brewing Company, was also looking forward to the human dogsled race.

“COR believes in giving back to the community and working with a nonprofit organization like Helping Hounds. We’re able to give back to such a wonderful nonprofit that’s well known in the Syracuse area, as well as bring the community out to have some fun during the winter months,” Lynch said.

Although there was enough snow for attendees to enjoy the event, it was a bit cold. Olivia Orlando, owner of Blueberries and Lace, a mobile cafe and bakery, sold out of hot chocolate at the event.

“Tons of people here today, I think because it was so cold,” Orlando said. “Everyone wants coffee and hot chocolate.”

Orlando bought her trailer in 2017, which took a year to be remodeled into the established Blueberries and Lace business. The business was up and running in 2018, two years before the first WinterFest Human Dogsled Race in 2020. Orlando has been participating since and is excited to continue doing so.

She plans to take part in other similar events, such as the Syracuse Food Truck Takeover on Wednesday nights during the summer. Orlando hopes community-based events like the human dogsled race will help her to eventually open a local shop soon.

In the last race, there was a close call between QPK Design, an architecture firm and another sponsor of the event, and the Hellwig Family Speed Demons. They started off strong, looking like a tie — then in the final moments, the Hellwig Family picked up momentum, and they won the Winterfest Human Dogsled Race.

DISCLAIMER: Adriana Lobo was the Student Association’s community engagement co-chair. She no longer occupies this position.

Published on February 21, 2022 at 12:10 am