The 2024 Galena Iron Dog Welcoming Carnival took place February 15th-18th. This annual event is hosted by Cynthia Erickson’s suicide prevention program and My Grandma’s House, with the support of The Iron Dog, TCC Wellness & Prevention, TCC Family Services, and the Alaska Suicide & Crisis Care Line. This year’s efforts were focused on encouraging safety while traveling on the river, developing suicide and substance use awareness, and creating positive community connections.
Cynthia Erickson likes to refer to the Iron Dog as the NASCAR of Alaska. It is an exciting time of the year, and snow-machine racers are impactful role models for village youth. They set examples for what it means to lead a healthy lifestyle and encourage youth to work hard and chase their dreams. Our motto is, “Life is a team effort!” Similar to how the race teams work together on the trails, we as a community need to look out for one another and stick together.
Families and youth joined us to participate in healthy activities and cheer on the Iron Dog racers over the course of four days. These activities included a paint night for youth, sign-making to cheer racers on, and wellness resources and information. Many wonderful items donated by various companies and programs were also given out during these events. These items included snow-machine helmets and goggles, Iron Dog t-shirts and hoodies, hats and gloves, neck warmers, and Columbia coats.
Furthermore, My Grandma’s House and TCC Wellness & Prevention collaborated with the Alaska Safe Riders to provide snowmobile and outdoor safety education to K-12 students. Presenters provided information on proper gear for cold weather, what to pack in your emergency kit, how to get out of an open hole on the river, how to save someone who fell through the ice, and many other useful tips.
A Family Scavenger Hunt also took place that prompted community members to complete acts of kindness for Elders or someone in need, develop family safety plans, add reflective tape to winter gear, save emergency contacts and resources to phones, spread suicide and substance use awareness, and other tasks that encouraged safety, prevention, and community connectedness. The winner of the scavenger hunt received a Garmin InReach Satellite Communicator to use while spending time in the outdoors!
We would like to extend a huge thank you to those who made the Galena Iron Dog Welcoming Carnival possible and to everyone who attended. Remember, “Life is a team effort!” You are not alone, and together we are stronger!
