Fourteen inches of ice, bright blue skies and temps in the lower 40s.-- Mother Nature really cooperated in providing ideal conditions for the second annual St. Marys River Roar in Barbeau Saturday afternoon.
The day consisted of a group of teams running winged sprints (think of go-carts on steroids!) around a 3/8 mile oval on the ice on the St. Marys River at the Cozy Corners.
But there was more fun! Even the little tykes got involved in some racing. The Kitty Cat (snowmobile) Races took place during intermission of the Sprint Car Races.
When Ron and Sara Gordon bought the Cozy Corners in May of 2021, they had a vision of not only providing summer fun at the business but also on the water. Then as summer faded, their focus was on what they could do to draw more attention to what this area has for winter fun.
Last winter, they teamed up with Kewadin Casino and Resort to bring in the Sprint Car Racers.
"Last year, it went well. It was more about exhibition trial runs last year than anything to see how the racers felt about the ice, but also to see how the turnout would be. It was way better than I thought it would be," Sara Gordon said.
This Saturday, there were people from outside the Eastern Upper Peninsula that came to the event.
"I had people come in from four hours away, so we hope to keep growing," Gordon added.
And to continue to grow, the residents of this small, friendly community are there to help each other out to make events like this work.
"We have thirty-three volunteers helping out today. All of Barbeau showed up pretty much to help, and I could not do it without any of them. It really is a collaboration between businesses and the community. They all want stuff like this here. It really is amazing how much support we receive," Gordon said.
