DDA Appeals To Keep Race in St. Ignace
Visitors Bureau Lends Support to May Event
By Karen Gould

A four-day adventure race that would bring 180 participants from more than 27 states has captured the support of the St. Ignace Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Visitors Bureau. The organizations are offering to contribute $500 each to sponsor the event as long as the race begins and ends in St. Ignace.

The reason for the sponsorship is to get the race to start in St. Ignace, said DDA Director Deb Evashevski. Initial plans had called for the race, which will take place over the Memorial Day weekend, to end in St. Ignace and to begin in Cedarville. Hosted at the Quality Inn, the event is not generated locally but is organized by a race management company called Infiterra Sports of Flint, which coordinates such races across the Midwest.

The four-day navigation race covers more than 300 miles and incorporates kayaking, canoeing, trekking and orienteering, fixed rope rappelling, and mountain biking.

The race, known as the 2007 Michigan Expedition Adventure Race (MIX for short), already is sold out. It will take place May 27 through June 2.

The DDA approved the financial support of the event during its Friday, January 12 meeting at which Mrs. Evashevski told the board that the Visitors Bureau already had committed to $500.

She said the city hopes racers' families will tour the area while the race is in progress. Race organizers have limited the race to 40 coed teams of four people.

"We hope to have families stay here to see them off and stay here to greet them when they come back," said Mrs. Evashevski. "We're hoping to showcase St. Ignace."

Glen King, manager of the Quality Inn, which is the event's host motel is working with race organizers on the logistics and with the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce to develop some race incentives.

"This is a huge race in adventure sports racing," said Mr. King.

Race organizers have made multiple trips to the area to map out the route that remains secret until shortly before the event begins, said Mr. King. Even the order of activities is not revealed until the last minute, he added.

In addition to the DDA, Visitors Bureau, and Quality Inn, Woods and Water Ecotours of Hessel is a sponsor.

In other business, Mrs. Evashevski said that work on the boardwalk extension project was helped by the warm weather. Decking was being laid. Once completed, the extension will lead to the Wawatam Lighthouse and fishing platform, which is eight feet by 22 feet in size. She said the area will be blocked off until spring, when a red metal railing will be installed around the lighthouse. The deadline to have the project completed is Memorial Day, she said.

Plans for a park on the remaining dock area continue to be discussed at the committee level and may include a brick walkway on the south side of the dock and an interpretive area to include information about the lift gates on the dock. Preservation of the lift gate now may become a separate project, she said. The lift gate was used to align the railroad tracks on the dock with the tracks on the railroad ferries.

Mrs. Evashevski reported that she and Michelle Walk, director of the Mackinac County Extension office, would like to attend a rural development conference in Ireland and are applying for grant funds to do so. The rural development conference is about agricultural and cultural tourism. Also covered are the development of a walking trail and coastal and island tourism.

The DDA next meets Friday, March 9, at 8 a.m. in the council chambers at St. Ignace City Hall.