You’ll be able to livestream Can-Am races Saturday
By Jessica Potila, St. John Valley Times Staff
FORT KENT – Thousands of spectators flock to Fort Kent’s Main Street each year to see the Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races, and now even more will be able to watch the event from anywhere in the world.
For the first time, WFKTV Channel 4 will provide a livestream of New England’s longest sled dog race free to viewers.
Something else is new this year. Race watchers will no doubt notice the absence of a familiar voice at the starting line. Longtime announcer Alain Ouellette retired this year after decades of volunteering.
“He used to do the whole thing himself. Some years he would have 90 mushers to prep,” Can-Am President Dennis Cyr said. “He would start talking at about seven o’clock in the morning straight to noontime. He was so organized; he did a fantastic job.”
CALL TO GO INTO THE WILD — A sled dog on musher Gregg Vitello’s team proves it has some serious vertical leaping ability as it howls to take off in the Can-Am Crown 250 on Fort Kent’s Main Street last year.
Multiple new announcers will take the makeshift stage — a tractor trailer bed set up adjacent to the starting line — at this year’s event.
Lynn Cyr, Dennis Cyr’s wife, will announce the 250-mile race. Kevin Lavoie will fill in for the 100-mile race, and Peter Marquis will call the 30 mile-race.
Though he has every confidence in the new team of announcers, Ouellette will be missed, Cyr said.
“All these years I always said he was the face of Can-Am,” Cyr said. “He was so thorough and organized. I never had to bother with the Main Street start; he would take care of it all. He never wanted recognition or anything; he would just do his job. He’s a great guy.”
So far, 64 mushers have registered for the Irving Woodlands Can-Am Crown 250, Willard Jalbert Jr. Can-Am 100 and Pepsi/Native Dog Food Can-Am 30. Local mushers include Ashley Patterson of Shirley in the 250 race, Mark Patterson of Shirley at 100, and Julia Klaucke of Medford in the 30.
The mushers and their teams will take off from the starting gate in downtown Fort Kent at 8 a.m. on Saturday morning.
WFKTV is a nonprofit organization that broadcasts St. John Valley events to cable subscribers.
The live broadcast can be viewed at https://www.wfktv-4.com/ orhttps://www.youtube.com/wfktv4live.