Ready for Snowarama! Tony Swader of the Grand Portage Trail Riders and 8-year-old Easter Seals Ambassador Zachary Pylychuk of Thunder Bay check out the pledge forms for the 9th Annual Grand Portage Snowarama for Easter Seals. Both are looking forward to Snowarama at the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino on Saturday, February 4. Zachary hopes to once again convince Tony to take him for a short snowmobile ride.
Planners of the 9th Annual Snowarama for Easter Seals Kids are hoping, hoping, hoping for snow for the event on Saturday, February 4, 2012. And no one is wishing harder than 8-year-old Easter Seals Ambassador Zachary Pylychuk, who hopes to once again convince a member of the Grand Portage Trail Riders to take him for a short snowmobile ride.
The ride means a lot to Zachary, who is confined to a motorized wheelchair because of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), sometimes referred to as children’s Lou Gehrig’s disease. This is the fourth year that Zachary has served as Easter Seals Ambassador for the Grand Portage Snowarama and he does a wonderful job. His mom, Jacqueline Pylychuk, said she is very grateful to Easter Seals for its assistance— for her family and hundreds of others.
Jacqueline said Easter Seals provides equipment that aids in mobility and helps kids achieve a level of independence they couldn’t otherwise.
Easter Seals is able to help families in part because of fundraisers such as Snowarama, which is sponsored by Easter Seals Ontario, the Chronicle- Journal, Dougall Media, the Grand Portage Trail Riders, the Grand Portage Lodge and Casino and the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. Snowmobilers come from all over Minnesota and northwestern Ontario to enjoy the Grand Portage trails, bringing a sense of adventure and pledges benefiting Easter Seals.
In the last nine years, the Grand Portage Snowarama has raised over $200,000 for Easter Seal kids.
This year there is a special Grand Portage Lodge and Casino incentive draw for Snowarama participants. For every $99 in pledges, riders will be entered to win one of three great snowmobile trips. First prize is a $750 gift certificate for weekend accommodations and meals at Indianhead Resort. Second prize is a weekend rental at the newly renovated Hollow Rock Resort with breakfast and dinner for two each day. Third prize is another weekend stay with breakfast and dinner for two at Hungry Jack Lodge on the Gunflint Trail.
In addition to the chance to win a prize, riders are invited to a complimentary spaghetti dinner and dancing in the evening, featuring Bed of Roses, a Bon Jovi tribute band (free for Snowarama participants, $10 for others). There is also a cozy bonfire and a poker run on the ride—lots of fun ways to enjoy the beautiful Grand Portage trails while supporting a great cause.
For more information about the Grand Portage Snowarama, contact the Grand Portage Lodge & Casino at (800) 543-1384.
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