Hastings Hussle coming to North Hastings

By Chris Drost

Mark your calendars and get ready to strap on your snowshoes for a brand-new winter event happening in North Hastings on Saturday, March 4 at Cedar Ridge Camp in McArthurs Mills called the Hastings Hussle.

This event is being provided in cooperation with Snowshoe Canada and will include snowshoe racing as well as several indoor and outdoor activities on site. “We would like to see snowshoeing as an official winter Olympic sport,” says one of the local organizers, Cathy Trimble. Snowshoe Canada is a registered national non-profit that is set up to govern the growing sport of snowshoeing in Canada. They act as a governing body and provide a variety of services that benefit event organizers, athletes, sponsors, venue owners and other stakeholders.

The use of snowshoes goes back a very long time. According to Snowshoe Canada's website, there is some evidence that they may have first originated in Central Asia about 4000 B.C. The development of the snowshoe allowed early migration possible. We know that snowshoes were commonly used by Indigenous peoples in North America.

Hastings Hussle is open to the public, but registration will be required as well as the signing of a consent form. Details are still in the works for determining a small entrance fee or donation to the Community Cupboard as an alternative.

Cedar Ridge Camp, located at 57 Cemetery Road in McArthurs Mills, is a well-known summer camp for children and a year-round education and group retreat centre. It is located on 150 acres of beautiful forest with 3,400 feet of shoreline on Wannamaker Lake. Besides offering the snowshoe trails for the event, a bonfire, skating, a program offered by the library and other activities will be available, depending on the weather.

During the next few weeks more details about the event will become available.