SnoBreak is officially over, but Cain's Quest started in Labrador City on our last official day, and the riders are coming through here today -Tuesday, March 17th, 2009.
I stopped over at the Hotel North Two to see our local riders come in close to noon. Team 6 made up time on the way in from Rigolet and passed a few teams enroute. They are now here for an 8 hour stopover and then are heading out this evening via Churchill Falls and ultimately Labrador City. Good luck Paul and George!

The Finale was fabulous! A great time was had by all! Hollis Yetman designed a beautiful ice carving in the shape of a luge with the SnoBreak logo engraved on it. You could pour your drink down it for fun - a great way to chill your SourPuss.

We drew for the grand prize winner of a trip for two on PAL-Innu Mikun Airlines- button # 553 was Madison Dooley. She didn't have to be present to win.
Other prizes were drawn as well during the night in-house. The bands were excellent. Jacinda Beals played first, then The Northernaires and finally Smokehouse. The place was rockin' all night long. It could not have been a better way to cap off a great festival...we had great crowds to almost every single event. I for one feel this event was a success judging by the kinds comments from many members of our great community of Lake Melville!

Rock 'n' Skate was a great time! The lights were down but there was a light show and the rock music was playing so it was a cool way to spend an hour on Saturday afternoon. Mr. John Hicks had the rink set up for a happenin' time.

PLEASE CALL THE ARENA TO SIGN UP FOR NEXT WEEK WHEN THE WEATHER IMPROVES!

I did it! I made to all the lunches and breakfasts and I loved them all! Those of you who thought it was too cold and windy to go out sure missed a sumptuous lunch. I was totally impressed with the ladies at the Friendship Centre. They had hot beef or chicken soup. That was perfect after nearly getting blown across the street on the way in! Next came great sandwiches- any kind you wanted..I loved the egg salad. Then, joy of joys, they had homemade dessert there. I had to pick one- and I went with the partridgeberry tart, that looked like a dumpling but tasted like a pie. Excellent! The King and Queen were out of course, and King Rodney was telling me about how he was going to put a "sock in it" for tomorrow's Loppet. What does that mean?!
Anyway, I was extremely pleased at the variety, quality and service at all 6 places I dined at this week. Quality was top notch, and anyone I talked to felt the same way. Thanks everyone.

I am still not awake yet, but I did make it to the College for their pancake breakfast this morning. The weather was really bad, but the room was packed once again for a community meal. Pancakes of all kinds were on the menu this morning with sausage, toast, juice and tea.....well I was supposed to have tea but that waitress Rosemary was working for free this morning and I can see why! She forgot the most important part of my morning ritual- a hot cup of Tetley!! Oh well, the pancakes I had were blueberry and they were excellent. I did get a tea after, so it was a fab morning. Thanks CONA.....and now only one more to go....Friendship Centre for soup and sandwiches.

Last night's Turkey Curling at the Curling Club was a resounding success! The Club was packed with adults and kids alike. There was turkey curling and hotshots curling going on all night. Even King Rodney showed up in his royal leisure suit to take a few shots with the Queen. He used some of his royal consent ( or is that descent?) to change a rule or two for some people who had difficulty throwing their turkey directly toward the centre button! I tried it too, and didn't shame myself too badly getting a turkey in the blue ring. I even managed to put my stone in between 2 guards for a few points. I think the adults had more fun than the kids as there were lots of ooh, aahs and ha ha's going on! The large number of kids also had a chance to guess how many smarties were in the jar, play some pool and win lots of prizes...all for a great night of fun!

Well, all those people with carpel tunnel...it is finally over! SnoBaby 2009 is 10 week old Maria Rebecca Edmunds. She is a beautiful SnoBaby.
After almost 14,000 votes and the crash of one computer system, close-out of hotmail and change over to gmail systems, we finally have a baby! Last night at the Trapper's Cup the winner of this contest was announced. Maria Rebecca won a $100.00 cheque, a beautiful basket made and donated by Northmart, and a professional photo shoot. The SnoKing and Queen were happy to have this family "addition" and were in attendance for Rebecca Maria's coronation. We at SnoBreak could not be happier with our first "Royal Family".

What a barnburner the Trappers Cup was this year. The game came down to a 4-4 tie and then went to a shootout. This game was like the NHL, minus the steroids! The Happy Valley-Goose Bay Trappers finally emerged from the shootout as the winners.
I think half of Northwest River ventured over the road for this game as you could tell when a goal was scored and the crowd would roar. It was one of the largest crowds ever at the Trappers Cup with approximately 500 people.

The lucky winner of the 50/50 collected by the Female All-star Girls Under 20 team was Ann Morris with lucky ticket # 5720201. She won $235.00 but I wonder if she just picked up the stub off the floor of the arena when she was cleaning up since the game was almost over before she "discovered" she had the winning ticket.....lucky for you Ann. All the hard work paid off for you this week!!

Okay, I'm really full now! This is crazy!! Today's lunch was homemade beans and toutons. I had to laugh because someone ahead of me wanted whole wheat toutons instead of the white....at this point, does it really matter? The lunch today was superb as usual. The beans were terrific and mine had lots of bacon. I loved the toutons which I have to smother with molasses. These people are smart here because they know everybody is actually too full for dessert (even me) so they had a fruit salad which topped off this fabulous luncheon just right. Okay, so tomorrow is the last day, but I have to go to the pancake breakfast first at 7:30 at the College of the North Atlantic and then lunch at the Friendship Centre at 11:30. Maybe if I walk from one place to the other....

I can't take much more of this great food! I was so happy today to get scalloped potatoes because my home crowd doesn't care for them, so I rarely have any. The participation today was unbelievable as the Anglican Women ran out of food! The place was packed with people by 11:45 and at 12:30 it was all sold out. Too bad for anybody who didn't get their lunch, but what a great success this week is.
So tomorrow is the Salvation Army's beans and toutons....look out!!

What a great day for this event. Approximately 30 people took advantage of positively brilliant weather to go from either Tim Horton's parking lot or Northwest River's Forestry building enroute to the old community of Mulligan. I don't have all the details yet, but I hear the trip was a bit cold to start, but warmed up as the day went on. The fishing was a great success at Mulligan and even our SnoQueen hooked a big one! They caught lots of trout and rock cod and the pictures should be spectacular when we get them....more details soon. For all those people who wished they had gone- you missed a terrific day! This could not have been a success without the dedication of the Natural Resources Department people under Bruce Hope...they made the day truly memorable.

Our Chairperson Erika and several of our committee members were very pleased to attend the Ecumenical Concert held at the Bethel Pentecostal Church on Tuesday night. They said it was absolutely beautiful and Pastor Snow was very kind to do a bulletin that highlighted the "SnoBreak" theme and associated it with a theme of "Making Tracks". Erika was nervous she would mess up saying the word "ecumenical" (try saying that 5 times!!) but she managed to welcome everyone in style as she usually does. Free-will proceeds of approximately $750.00 from this concert were given to Daffodil Place which is a worthwhile cause.

Fish "n" Brewis was fantastic today! I love these social events and I spent the whole time talking to friends and enjoying the brewis...I like mine with molasses. It was great to see the men working hard serving and cleaning up after everyone. Man, I don't think I am going to make it through the week. Wait...what?! Ham and Scalloped potatoes at the Anglican Church on Wednesday? I'm in!!!!

OUR SNOBREAK2009 BUTTONS ARE NOW SOLD OUT!

What a great meal at the Masonic Lodge hosted by the United Church Women. I was there early to have the excellent seafood chowder, an egg sandwich and my favourite - homemade dessert. The carrot cake with the cream cheese, orange peel and coconut icing was "to die for"! I don't know what everyone else had, but it was a wonderful meal for $7.00. Tomorrow is fish and brewis......

What a crowd for the Family skate! We had a huge box of dry goods donated for the food bank which was gratefully accepted at the Friendship Centre.
There were tons of families out for a bit of exercise and fun. It was great to see adults and children alike out.

About a hundred people tried their hand at ice carving event on Saturday afternoon. Many people had their photo taken while the posed on the lifesize snowmobile made of ice - carved by our friend Steve Watson. The carvings are still on display beside the arena. We offer a special thanks to Hollis Yetman for the lovely carvings in front of the SnoBreak Office. Photos of this event in the gallery

Our first royal couple were crowned on Saturday during the Steve Ramey Memorial Hockey Tournament. They are Delphine and Rodney Roberts . We understand they were PUNKED later that evening, and had a ride on the Zamboni!

More that 100 people enjoyed the first dog show hosted by PAWS, Valley Vet Clinic and SPCA. It was standing room only. Dogs ranged from teeny tiny Yorkies to a rather large St. Bernard. Congratulations to Vinnie chosen for his Labrador Spirit, and Jake for his talent, and Chloe for her glamour! Photos of this event in the gallery

The winner of the Big Land Challenge Dog Team Race was Sherry Munn from Labrador City. Crowds had a great time at Terrington Basin, with mild weather and a fair bit of snow. Congratulations to the participants and the organizers!

What a glorious day for an outdoor event....and the hill was crowded with more than 200 happy sliders! Because of the huge turnout, we ran out of hot chocolate and hot dogs about an hour before the event was over. Photos of this event in the gallery

The crowds were steady at this annual girls hockey tournament, and everyone had a great time. LMXMH had a nice hospitality room set up for parents of local and visiting teams. Those new SnoBreak horns were awesome..just ask the people sitting in front of one! We saw Steve's family up in the stands and we all remember him fondly. The girls played hard, but had lots of fun, just like he would have expected! Congratulations to the organizers.

Jeremy Healey was the first finder and Delphine and Rodney (our SnoKing and SnoQueen) were not far behind. Jeremy receives a collector's geocoin as his prize, along with first choice at the goodies that were placed in the cache. We understand that Volange and Mr.Popcorn had a treat waiting at the final cache for participants on Sunday. More info about Geocaching here. .