The 13th Annual CopperDog 150 takes place this weekend, starting Friday night in Calumet. Keweenaw Convention and Visitors Bureau photo

CALUMET — The 13th Annual CopperDog 150 Festival Weekend will take place Friday through Sunday, starting in Calumet on the snow road and continuing across the Keweenaw Peninsula with stage finishes in Phoenix, Eagle Harbor, and Copper Harbor.

The Calumet start of the race is one of the most spectacular events in sled dog racing. The festival is organized by CopperDog Inc., a 501(c)3 organization.

The weekend features events for people of all ages, including live musical performances on Saturday at the Calumet Theatre from three Nashville musicians — Gary Hannan, Wynn Varble and Clint Daniels. Their songs have been performed by some of the highest-selling solo artists of all time including Garth Brooks, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley, Easton Corbin and others.

Hannan performed at the Calumet Theatre in the fall.

They will share their greatest songs and tell the stories behind them that have influenced our culture and the direction of country music. The concert starts at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Tickets range from $20 to $30.

Hannan’s songs include “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” by Joe Nichols and “Back When I Knew It All,” by Montgomery Gentry.

Varble’s first radio single was “Fit To Be Tied Down” by Sammy Kershaw. Since then he has had hits including “Have You Forgotten” by Darryl Worley, “Waitin’ On A Woman” by Brad Paisley, and “I’m A Little More Country Than That” by Easton Corbin.

Daniels has co-written songs for dozen of country artists including the hit “Brokenheartsville” by Joe Nichols, “Ready For The End Of The World” by George Strait and “Roll With Me” by Montgomery Gentry, as well as Brooks & Dunn’s 2008 “God Must Be Busy” and Easton Corbin’s single, “I Can’t Love You Back” and Eric Church’s “Some Of It.”

In addition to award winning music there will be a block party, fireworks, a bonfire, food, and the highlight: three dog races — the CopperDog 150, the CopperDog 80, and the CopperDog 25.

For a full CopperDog Festival schedule, go to http://www.copperdog150.com.

More than 350 dogs are expected to race throughout the weekend. The CopperDog races feature more than 50 teams of sled dogs across the three races.

The CopperDog 150 features10 dog teams covering 150 miles in three days; the CopperDog 80 features eight dog teams and covers approximately 80 miles in two days.

The CD25 is a six dog per team sprint race in Copper Harbor on Saturday March 5. While many mushers come from the Midwest, races regularly feature mushers from several Canadian provinces and from as far away as South Africa.

What sets the CopperDog apart from other races is the immense community involvement and activities surrounding the races.

“The CopperDog race organization is like a big extended family. It takes the entire community to put on an event as large as CopperDog,” said CopperDog Board Chair Doug Harrer.