2010 WDMA Canine Athletes Symposium & Mushing History Conference

The 2010 Willow Dog Mushers Association's third annual Canine Athletes Symposium will be held in Willow, Alaska on Sept. 25 and 26, in conjunction with the second annual Mushing History Conference, presented by Northern Light Media.

The WDMA Symposium will hold center stage in the Willow Community Center on Saturday, Sept. 25, with keynote speaker Mary Shields, the first woman to run and finish the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in 1974. Complementing Shields' address will be a panel of veteran women mushers, and attendees will also experience a wealth of canine athlete-related activities, including hands-on seminars, workshops, demonstrations and more. There will also be a new and used gear swap, a vendor fair, and a fundraising dinner with a silent auction and a showing of Shield's PBS documentary, "Season of the Sled Dog."

The 2010 Mushing History Conference is sponsoring a mushing history display, with ongoing informal discussions about the history of sled dog travel in the north. On Sunday, Sept. 26 the Mushing History Conference gets underway in earnest, with a program which includes the All Alaska Sweepstakes, the Serum Run, dog mushing in the Northwestern fur trade, Iditarod mail carriers, the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the history of women in racing, and more.

 

Award-winning Talkeetna artist David Totten contributed artwork for a limited edition poster, which will be available for purchase. Totten, who has designed the official poster for multiple years of the Yukon Quest, has often used his own team of sled dogs as models for his artwork.

-- For information about the 2010 Willow Dog Mushers Association Canine Athletes Symposium and Mushing History Conference contact the Willow Dog Mushers Association, P.O. Box 858, Willow, Alaska 99688; (907) 495-0671; http://www.willowdogmushers.com

-- For information specifically about the 2010 Mushing History Conference, contact Northern Light Media, P.O. Box 759, Palmer, Alaska 99645; (907) 354-3510; http://mushinghistory.wordpress.com