The Town of Inuvik is looking to make a splash for the partying crowd at the 2018 Inuvik Sunrise Festival, but other details of the event saw much debate at the first public planning meeting, including a suggestion to move the date altogether.
Clyde Elanik gets dogpiled by Kohl McDonald, middle, and Gordon Lennie on top while playing on the ice at the 2017 Inuvik Sunrise Festival. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
“We’re just not bringing enough people up,” said Kylik Kisoun Taylor of Tundra North Tours.
The festival should be an international event, he said, but falling one week into January means people would have to take off an extra week after the Christmas break, something that most working folk aren’t capable of getting.
Taylor said he has had customers who wanted to go to the festival but switched to the Muskrat Jamboree, which falls in April.
In addition to the poor timing of the date, the sunrise festival occurs at a time of the year when – obviously – Inuvik is very dark and poor for tourism opportunities.
“It’s almost like push it forward (to make it a New Year’s celebration) or move it back a month,” said Taylor.
The town would see a greater return on investment if it found a better date, he said, conceding that it is too late to make this kind of a switch for the 2018 festival but could be something to consider in the future.
One of the largest challenges for the town this year is to define exactly what it wants from staple program A Taste of Inuvik.
Over the years, the event has bounced around with its priorities, starting as a chamber of commerce initiative to showcase local businesses and now often confusing festivalgoers as to whether it’s a feast or not.
“I think it’s important there is consistent food,” said Tony Devlin, who attended the meeting. “The year that Justin Trudeau showed up, we showed up there at 6:15, 15 to 20 minutes after it opened, and the food was gone.”
Recreation coordinator Steve Krug said in the past there has been some confusion over whether it was a sit-down meal or a small plate.
There was much debate around the room about the best way to handle the service.
Marketing coordinator Chris Sharpe said he would like to include food from as many cultures as possible in the event, but Devlin said that might be a challenge for some groups that don’t have the resources to serve the crowds at the festival.
“A feast always sounds like it’s super easy,” said Jackie Challis. “But what happens in the back… there’s a lot that goes into it.”
A profit- or cost-sharing deal with vendors was one suggestion at the meeting.
For the 2018 festival, the town will be holding a DJ party on the Saturday night, offering an event for partiers and adults interested in drinking.
There was some debate about the possibility to hold it outside at the Twin Lakes after the fireworks, but consensus seemed to be that the Midnight Sun Complex would make more sense, especially if the weather were particularly poor.
“I say go big or don’t go at all,” said Sharpe about the DJ event.
Also scheduled for the festival is a children’s concert.
Other subjects brought up during the meeting were limiting drones around the fireworks, bringing bleachers down to the Twin Lakes so more people could sit, and extending the snow-carving judging until later in the night to get more exposure.
Regular meetings will take place until the festival, which is scheduled for Jan. 5 to 7, 2018.