Garrett Neese/Daily Mining Gazette Duane Helminen and Matt Taskey enjoy their first time being pulled by a sled dog during Saturday’s CopperDog festivities.

CALUMET — Warm weather and a change of plans didn’t stop crowds and mushers from celebrating CopperDog.

The annual sled dog race in Calumet was canceled mid-February due to the warm weather and lack of snow.

Saturday’s and Sunday’s events, which included weight pulls and the Kids CopperDash, had already been on the schedule. But after the main races were canceled, organizers came up with new Friday events a couple of weeks ago.

In the CopperDrag, two teams of one-dog sleds faced off to see who could make it to the end of their 250-foot lane the fastest. Twenty-four mushers competed in the single-elimination tournament, many of them racers who had planned to compete in the CopperDog 150.

“A lot of the mushers just wanted their dogs to run,” said organizer Krissy Tepsa. “Even if it as just a 250-foot drag race, they wanted their dog to get out there and do some running. The dogs really wanted to go. They didn’t want to turn around. They wanted to run more than 250 feet.”

Also new Friday was the kids’ ride on the “Bus,” a large sled towed by a five-dog front.

This was already planned as the first year for the weight pull, done in heats Friday through Sunday. The event was sanctioned by the World Wide Weight Pull Organization, making it the first such event ever held in the U.P. In the first round Friday, 26 dogs competed to see who could pull the most, and who could pull the most relative to their weight.

There were plenty of contestants for both categories: novices and professionals that have participated in other weight pulls.

Sky Harris of the Michigan Technological University Mushing Club ran her dog Wolfie in the CopperDrag, then also decided to try out the weight pull. Wolfie got 475 in the first competition, and probably could’ve gone higher, Harris said.

“She kept on wanting to do the racing thing where she would leap,” she said. “If she went down low and pulled, she would’ve pulled 500. But we always help them because you don’t want to destroy their confidence, especially the first time.”

Race training has been difficult this winter because of the warmer weather, Harris said.

“You just give them a lot of water,” she said. “You don’t want to push them too hard. Because the hotter it is, the harder it is on their body, right.”

When you see the dog panting, it’s time to stop, Harris said. That didn’t happen with Friday’s pull.

“We kept putting on more weight, because she wasn’t panting,” she said. “She was just chill, mouth closed, breathing.”

On Saturday, kids took over for the CopperDash, a timed race where they were pulled by one dog down a 75-foot straight chute. Races were divided between ages 4-8 and 9-12.

Elizabeth Beaverson of Ishpeming took first place in the 9-12 category.

“I kick, and sometimes run with my dog,” she said. “I had a five-pound sled, and my dog’s really fast.”

This was Beaverson’s first time at CopperDog, though she’s gone to other races such as the U.P. 200. Spirit Team Racing, which mentors Beaverson.

She also competed in Friday’s CopperDrag, winning her first heat.

Beaverson said she plans to do more competitive mushing. Asked what she likes the most about racing, she said “being with my dogs.”

Even after prizes were awarded, curious kids like 10-year-olds Duane Helminen and Matt Taskey still got to try a sled dog ride out themselves.

“It was kind of terrifying,” Taskey said.

“It was an adrenaline rush,” added Helminen.

Events Sunday included a screening of “Musher,” which centered on competitors preparing for the CopperDog, and a fundraiser dinner with music by Bob Hiltunen.

Tepsa thanked the volunteers and participants.

Some of the new events might stay on the schedule for next year even if things get back to normal, Tepsa said.

For the drag race, they’d initially wanted eight contestants; that took less than a day. Even after expanding to 16, they had a waitlist.

“It was less than a week-and-a-half of planning, and it filled up in a couple of days,” she said. “So it was a popular event. I don’t see why we wouldn’t do something again next year.”