Driftrunners ready for Snowfest

Howard County -  Winter weather has arrived. With everything but a much-needed component of a successful Snowfest: snow. The Driftrunners Snowmobile Club is hoping for snow to make Snowfest, Jan. 25-28 a time where club members and visitors can enjoy the trails. But never fear, even without the snow, most events will be held and there is a lot of fun to be had.

“We will be doing everything but the trail rides if we don’t have enough snow,” said Jeff Zak, club president. “The fun runs are done by car if there isn’t enough snow for making it around to the 26 stops.”

So why do the 50/50 Fun Run even if there’s no snow?

“The riders really enjoy the 50/50 Fun Run,” said Zak. “So, we do it by car. The businesses really appreciate the business this event and the weekend as a whole brings in. 

“The 26 stops on this run are in Cresco, Lime Springs, Protivin, Lourdes, Saratoga, Chester, Granger, Florence-ville,  Kendallville, Ridgeway and Jerico. Participants of the Fun Run get their cards stamped or signed at each stop and on Sunday the cards are turned in. 

“If you make it to all the stops you have ten cards. The best five out of ten cards win. 50 percent of the winnings go to the top three hands and the other 50 percent goes to Spina Bifida.”

Thursday’s events include: Vokaty Special Early Bird Ride, the start of the 50/50 Fun Run for Spina Bifida and an evening Club trail ride. Friday includes the Ladies Trail Ride and the Evening Club Ride.

The breadth of the events are on Saturday. Saturday’s Raffle and Silent Auction, the Boy Scout Breakfast, Vendor Show, ISSA Club Ride, HoCA Cancer Awareness Family Ride, Vintage Sled Ride, Hot Turkey Dinner, Torchlight Parade, Bonfire and Snowball Dance featuring the Trouble Shooter Band. The weekend ends with Sunday’s Brunch, Afternoon Family Trail Ride and turning in the 50/50 Fun Run cards.

Two of the bigger attractions for the weekend are the raffle and dance.

“We usually have around $3000 in prizes for the raffle,” shared Zak. “Most of the smaller prizes are donated by local businesses. We have two televisions; one 40-inch and one 50,-inch, snowmobile boots, a two-night cabin rental from Harvest Farms Campground and Resort, a meat package from Fareway, a shop vac, snow shoes and Fisk’s went half in on a Traeger Elite smoker/grill. We also have a Stanley tool set, a Go Pro, hats, shirts and gift certificates to local businesses.

“We are also bringing back the Trouble Shooter Band. They did a great job last year and play a mix of country and rock.”

Raffle tickets can be purchased from any Driftrunners Board member or at the dance.

“You can also contact us through our Facebook page if you’d like tickets or to purchase a membership,” said Zak.

The club, with 120 paid members, encourages riders and nonriders to come out and enjoy the weekend.

“The weekend is a great way to support local businesses and the sport of snowmobiling in general,” said Zak. “We usually get quite a few new memberships at the dance and people from all over send in memberships to support the Club. If you get a membership from us you are not just supporting the local club but are purchasing an Iowa State Snowmobile Association membership, so you are helping with things like signage for trails, the groomers throughout the state and repairs on trails and the groomers that keep those trails in shape.”

There are between 25-30 board and club members who will be coming together to make Snowfest what it is. Come out the weekend of Jan. 25. It is an opportunity to not only have fun but an opportunity to support the local club and various business throughout the county.