Fort Smith (Mar 06/06) - Melissa Fraser wants to see a revival of Wood Buffalo Frolics, the annual winter carnival in Fort Smith.

Fraser, who has participated or volunteered since she was a child, is the new co-ordinator of the March 16-19 carnival.

"I thought it was kind of dwindling to the same-old, same-old," she says. "I noticed the community spirit was becoming next to nothing."

She especially wants to get more young people involved. Fraser believes Wood Buffalo Frolics is a vital part of Fort Smith.

"If we didn't have it, it wouldn't be Fort Smith," she says, explaining it has become a tradition.

While noting she is not criticizing the efforts of former organizers, Fraser says she has noticed a decline in the carnival over the last half-dozen years.

Fraser, who is a land claims field worker with the Northwest Territory Metis Nation Negotiations Secretariat, is optimistic things can turn around.

"It's going to happen. We're going to do it," she says. "We're counting on a lot of good people."

The carnival is not sponsored by any one organization, but run by an all-volunteer committee. Fraser wants to increase the number of people helping, explaining some long-time volunteers are getting tired. "There's a lot of volunteer fatigue."

She is also planning to bring back some activities from the carnival's past, while adding new events.

The carnival has always featured fiddling and jigging, she notes. "But not everyone jigs or fiddles."

Among the new activities this year will be the crowning of a carnival king and queen, and "dogboggan" races - a relay race in which teams of four will have to pull a sleigh with a dog on it. A mad trapper look-alike contest will also be added. It will be a variation of the beard-growing contest from years past.