LAC LA BICHE - When the Winter Festival of Speed returns to Lac La Biche in 2025 as the Lac La Biche Ice Festival of Speed, it will once again feature the Danita Malo Memorial Ladies Race.
Malo was a Lac La Biche mom, wife and community supporter who passed away in 2022 after a battle with breast cancer. She was involved with the annual outdoor winter sporting event for several years.
For the last two years at the annual ice racing weekend in Lac La Biche, Malo has been remembered through a special women’s ice racing event. The memorial race helps raise money and awareness for breast cancer.
Ken Staples, the founding organizer of the Lac La Biche races that began 40 years ago, said Malo served as treasurer of the Lakeland Classic Wheels Club, which has been instrumental in hosting the racing event each year. Malo and her family, including her husband Lionel who is a founding member of the club, volunteered in many aspects of the races.
While Malo wasn’t a racer herself, she played an integral role in the organization and administration of the annual event.
“We have women involved in the ice racing, and after talking, we said we should be doing a women’s race dedicated to Danita,” Staples told Lakeland This Week. “Any money that we raise through that race, we make a donation to the Canadian Cancer Society for breast cancer research.”
The next Lac La Biche Ice Festival of Speed will take place from Feb. 28 to March 2 next year. The Danita Malo Memorial Race will be taking place on the afternoon of March 2.
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According to Staples, the memorial race attracts women race drivers from the local area and beyond. Staples’ daughter-in-law, Crystal Anderson, emerged as the winner of the inaugural race, which was held during the 2022 Winter Festival of Speed.
Those with the fastest times return home with a special award.
“We have a perpetual trophy that the winner gets to keep for a year - it’s the Danita Malo Memorial Trophy,” he explained.
Regarding how money is raised, drivers who enter their vehicles into the competition make contributions, while also paying a small entry fee. The organizing committee for the festival also contributes money for the cause.
“As the winter festival, we match what the women raised,” he explained.
Registration for the race and more information about the upcoming ice festival weekend can be found on the Festival of Speed social media pages.
