Inuvik puts on a show!

August 9, 2012
Sunrise: 5:46 am
Sunset: 0:08 am
Temps: 8 - 20 'C

As small as Inuvik is (pop. ~3500), it sure likes to put on a good show. Maybe, being at the end of a looooooong, lonely highway, the residents are in need of some good entertainment. Either way, there is no shortage of free food events, dancers and drummers, northern game demonstrations, jigging competitions, etc.

To the right, you see a local athlete in the air, having been launched there in the "blanket toss." The "blanket" is a huge piece of fabric, held by about 30 strong lads, which was used in the past by hunters to spot caribou, whales or other animals. Today it is part of the northern games.

More northern games demonstrations are seen on the left.

These two guys are skipping rope, in the push up position. If you look closely, you'll see that they are both in the air.

Hardcore.

Flight demos in Inuvik?

Natou came North around the time that hundreds of army personnel did, in preparation for a large disaster exercise. As a PR effort, they put on an air show. To the right are 7 "snowbirds" flying in formation, over the Mackenzie Delta.

Mid-July also saw Inuvik's 24th annual Great Northern Arts Festival (known locally as "gnaf"). Artists from across the North put on a wide variety of workshops, from printmaking, to beading, to goose-feet-basket making. There was also a gallery set up, transforming the local curling rink, where artists could display and sell their wares. There you could find paintings, carvings, mukluks, fur mitts, jewlery and much more.

Some people suggest budgetting at least $1000 for the arts festival alone. I exhibited significant restraint, and limited my purchases to a pair of colourful dyed goose feather earrings.




Each evening of the arts festival included some sort of free community event. Of course, the local Inuvialuit drummers and dancers put on a show, as did a drumming group from Fort Good Hope, NWT. There was also a jigging contest (Inuvik LOVES jigging contests!).

My favourites were the fashion show and the throat singers.

Above, you see a parka fashioned in the old style, made by the model herself, a local elder.

To the right, you see a mix of old and new.

To the left, you see a coat made out of muskox fur. It was pretty funny to see, and reminded me of Hagrid, from the Harry Potter movies.

At the fashion show, there were two items on display made out of muskox fur: this coat and a vest.

Apparently, at one time, there were actually three items in the collection, but no one knows what happened to the third. It was a bikini. :)







Finally, finally, a treat for you. You will have to tilt your head, because I didn't think about posting this video at the time I shot it, but it is of two Inuit women throat singing. I had never heard this before, and was quite entertained by it. Enjoy!