It’s CALCUTTA time!

Calcutta; the once a year financial boom and social event of the season for many small snowmobile clubs. The same small clubs whose dedication, coordination and volunteer efforts make snowmobiling possible.

If you have never been to a Snowmobile Calcutta event, you are missing out on something special. At Calcutta's across the Snow Belt, preseason excitement goes into high gear with the real possibility of going home as a winner.

These events provide early season fundraising just when clubs need it the most. At the beginning of every winter, our (YES, OUR) Snowmobile Clubs desperately need financial support to replenish their accounts from previous expenditures as well as to make immediate investments in the upcoming season.

If you have been to a Calcutta, it is very likely that you have gone again.  It is a good time that is worth having again and again.

If you have been, you know that these events are much more than a dinner and a 1 in 100 chance at being the evening’s grand prize winner. 

Calcuttas are about reconnecting with old friends, meeting new friends, planning new adventures and telling and hearing stories, both old and new.

Calcuttas are about sharing the mutual anticipation of freshly fallen snow, groomed trails and all that is about to begin.

Calcuttas are as grass roots and down home as snowmobiling gets and it’s fantastic to be a part of it. Since the very beginning of snowmobiling, Calcutta events have been a valuable financial and social part of our sport.

I recently represented SledMagazine.com at a Calcutta in Vermont put on by the Barre Sno-Bees snowmobile club.

I had a great time with the Sno-Bees and I hope that they had a good time with me. You are never an outsider in a room full of snowmobilers.   I thank the many club members who welcomed me and shared their snowmobile passion, histories, stories and adventures with me.

I randomly sat at a table of 8 where it turned out that 3 of us were named Greg. What are the odds of that? Plus there was another Greg in the crowd.

I have been fortunate to meet  snowmobilers from across the Northern US and Canada and nothing breaks the ice better than the opening question “What was your first snowmobile?” After that, it is always all good.

If you are not an actively volunteering club member, a Calcutta is a way for you to contribute more than just your trail pass.  Buy your trial pass early to get club money flowing and buy a ticket to a Calcutta event. If your club doesn’t do one, find one that does. 

At the Sno-Bees event, I think everyone was a winner, I know that I was. Fun for all, all for fun…….CALCUTTA!