The third annual Festival by the Lake had smiles on the faces of everyone in the community, young and old, in Baker Lake this past month.
The three day event ran from Aug. 25-27, and featured a long list of attractions, activities and special guests.
The festival kicked off at the same time another annual event was being held in Baker, with the students of Rachel Arngnammaktiq Elementary School and Jonah Amitnaaq Secondary School taking to the streets for the Terry Fox Run.
Following the festival's opening ceremony, it was every kid for him or herself with the evening's attractions featuring a zip line, the always popular Bouncy Funfest, comedy clown duo Clopin Lanouille and Monsieur Nono, water walking, a balloon sculpture workshop, elders games and a dance with DJ Big Lu.
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) community liason officer Karen Yip said Lanouille and Nono even took their act to the Martha Talerook Elders Home to entertain those who couldn't get out to the festivities. Once they were finished there, she said the duo cruised the community, paying a visit to the Northern store along the way.
“We had a lot of attractions set-up at what the community refers to as 'the turf,'” said Yip.
“Artificial grass is installed in our local ice rink to create the turf, and we used the facility to host four Bouncy Castles and slides, a mini-golf course, a bubble-ball field, and numerous games such as balloon pump pop, soccer kick, fish pond, bean bag toss and guessing games.
“The elders games we host are always a good time because the elders really know how to have fun.”
The Festival by the Lake always features a unique attraction and this year a 400-foot zip line was unveiled. Yip said an exotic zoo was also brought in, which featured iguanas, frogs, snakes, lizards and more.
A traditional caribou feast was held on the afternoon of Aug. 26 along with a showcase of beautiful beaded amautis, some of which can take up to two years to make. The folks in Baker also got treated to fine music by Iqaluit band the Trade Offs and a fireworks display lasting a full 30 minutes.
A huge parade, possibly the largest ever seen in Baker Lake according to Yip, closed out the festival, with appearances by Elmo, Ironman, Batman, Tinkerbell and Luigi.