Yellowknife (Mar 10/06) - Arts and crafts displays, laughter specialists and an "annoying" brass quintet are just some of the performances for International Women's Week this year.

Moira Cameron (top) and Dawn Lacey just before their trip to Expo 2005 in Japan as part of Ceilidh Friends. - NNSL File Photo

The Yellowknife Womens Society is promoting a variety show to house all of these activities at Northern United Place on Saturday, starting at 6:30 p.m. Moira Cameron, the society's board co-ordinator, said the event is a "celebration of women in the creative and performing arts," and is never lacking for participants.

"There is such an amazing array of talent in this city, we're having trouble narrowing the list down," she said.

Featured at the event this year are "laughter specialist" Lone Sorenson, singers Marilyn Morrison and Suzette Montreuil, singer/poet Dawn Lacey and many others.

However, the performers that most intrigue Cameron are the Paapina Brass Band.

Apparently, she said with a laugh, paapina is Inuktitut for "annoying."

Cameron said the event is a chance for the society to do something "more positive and lighthearted."

She said the society often gets "a lot of flak" for being too negative when it raises issues.

"We have problems we have to fix, but we have to honour the good things as well," she said.

Cameron said the event, which the society has held off and on for the last 15 years, is free and open to everyone, male or female. March 8 marks the 25th anniversary of Canada's signing of the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The first International Women's Day was organized in the United States in 1909. International Women's Week runs from March 5-11.