Michelle DaCruz
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 17/02) - If you have been scouring the pages of Yellowknifer for the winning Caribou Carnival button numbers, give up.

The raffle came and went during carnival, but if you weren't out on the ice between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. March 31, then you missed your chance to win.

The carnival board changed the raffle procedure this year, to an on-site draw as opposed to drawing from the whole button pool and printing the winning number in Yellowknifer.

Unfortunately, not everyone knew about the changes.

"We failed miserably in informing the organizations and individual sellers that the procedure had changed," said Bernie Bauhaus, president of the carnival association.

The $3 buttons were sold to gain entry to the carnival and into a draw to win two prizes: a trip to Edmonton and a fabric vest.

As for the general public, if they weren't finding out from the caribou cops then they would not know they had to register for the draw unless they had caught a radio announcement before the event.

"Perhaps it wasn't well announced," said Bauhaus.

To win, you had to be at the carnival site Sunday afternoon and find your number on a list posted outside the carnival trailer at 1 p.m. Those who registered for the draw were eligible for the final drawing at 5 p.m.

"You didn't have to be there for the final draw. We would contact you. But you did have to be there to register your name," Bauhaus said.

Bauhaus said it is unlikely the procedure will change next year because he thinks it was a good way to get people down to the ice. Bauhaus won't be around next year, however, as he has said he won't remain on the carnival board.

The winner of the trip was Martina Zoe-Martin, and the vest went to Theresa Frank-Sangris.