MADAWASKA – Some of the best snow conditions in the Northeast await an expected 1,500 snowmobilers coming to the fifth annual International Snowmobilers Festival that will be held Feb. 2- 4 in the St. John Valley.

Festival officials, municipal administrators and festival sponsors launched their plans Wednesday for the three-day event, held annually on the first weekend in February on 400 miles of trails in northern Maine and northwestern New Brunswick.

The festival is an economic boon for the area, with an impact of about $1 million in American funds. Along with the two border communities of Madawaska and Edmundston, New Brunswick, 12 snowmobile clubs are involved with the festivities.

“The festival is recognized by the Maine Office of Tourism as the major event for the month of February in Maine,” Jean Marc Albert, festival president, said Wednesday morning. “Reso des Sports [a Canadian sports network] has said our festival is the biggest three-day reunion of snowmobilers in North America.

“The international event has acquired notoriety, thanks to the cooperation of both our communities, and our snowmobile clubs,” Albert continued. “Our wish for the weekend is that it be as pleasant as possible for snowmobilers.”

“The Madawaska Territory is an old place to meet and trade,” Arthur Faucher, Madawaska town manager, said. “That spirit is still alive because we are a place where whole families can come to enjoy our culture and facilities.

“There is a lot of good heritage here, and facilities for everyone while the snowmobilers are on the trails,” Faucher said. “We are in northern Maine, but we exist, and we can show tourists a good time.”

“The festival has acquired a remarkable reputation, which has produced a snowball effect,” said Jacques Martin, Edmundston mayor. “The Friday night parade [of snowmobiles across the international bridge] has become a tradition enjoyed by hundreds.”

The backdrop of the Wednesday morning press conference had snowmobiling banners, banners from festival sponsors, and several posters depicting New Brunswick’s provincial winter theme for 2001, “Discover white gold.”

The theme exemplifies the snowmobiling season on both sides of the border as the sport fills area hotels and motels, restaurants and gasoline stations, and keeps snowmobiling dealers who work to keep enthusiasts on the trails busy. Cash registers sing through the winter, but especially on the weekend of the festival when nary a hotel room is vacant.

From the snowmobilers parade, which starts at 8 p.m. Feb. 2 in Edmundston and goes across the international bridge and up and down Madawaska’s Main Street, to the final presentations of gifts and prizes Sunday afternoon, the weekend is filled with activities for snowmobilers.

After the opening ceremonies at the Madawaska Knights of Columbus Hall at 9:30 p.m., fireworks and more than 400 miles of trails await the winter revelers.

Poker runs, over trails from Fort Kent to Van Buren and Clair, New Brunswick, to Kedgewick, New Brunswick, are held on Friday and Saturday. Runs can be made on any of four trails groomed by local snowmobile club volunteers.

Along with the Friday night opening ceremonies, gatherings are held at two Canadian snowmobile clubs Saturday night, and a huge barbecue brunch is held for pass holders at the Madawaska Museum in Edmundston on Sunday morning.

Participants vie for a total of $2,550 in cash prizes during the poker runs, another $1,000 in cash prizes to one lucky weekend participant and two round-trip airline tickets from St. Leonard, New Brunswick, to Montreal.

Participants pay $10 to acquire a pass for the trails in Maine and New Brunswick for the weekend. This is allowed through a reciprocity agreement that Albert said is the only one for snowmobilers between the two countries.

Safety is a preeminent concern during the weekend.

“These runs are not races,” stressed Patsy Belanger, a vice president of the group. “These runs are more like a rendezvous for snowmobilers to ride, meet, and have a good time.”

“Safety is the foremost concern,” Dick Arnold, a Fraser Papers Inc. vice president, said. “We sponsor the weekend in support of the hundreds of volunteers involved and to bring families together.

“Remember that it only takes a few moments to turn this fun activity into a disaster,” he said. “Many who come to the festival have developed lasting relationships.”

“Snowmobile clubs have made this possible,” Tom Seymour of the Maine Snowmobile Association said. “I am impressed with the emphasis that the festival places on family and safety.”

A long list of sponsors makes the snowmobiling weekend a reality. Albert said the festival costs $50,000 to put on. Of the amount, $15,000 goes to the 12 snowmobile clubs for grooming trails. Clubs receive money according to the number of miles of trails they take care of.

“Without these clubs, the festival just could not happen,” Albert said. “Volunteers make this happen in our region.

“We hope that the weather, which has been with us for every festival, will cooperate once again,” Albert said.