Yellowknife (Apr 24/06) - With the weather showing mercy on the North, we can dare to think of summer and the NWT's many upcoming music and arts festivals.

Chuck Blyth collects footage for Western Arctic Moving Pictures at Fort Simpson's Open Sky Festival last year. This year, the festival will draw inspiration from the Nahanni River. - NNSL file photo

News/North checked to see where some events stand this spring. The list isn't complete, so slighted events are welcome to complain. We'll get to you all eventually.

Great Northern Arts Festival

July 14-23

One of the foremost among NWT's summer festivals, the 18th annual celebration of art and music is on again in Inuvik.

The festival put out its call for submissions last week to a staggering response.

"We've received about 130 applications from all across Northern Canada and beyond," said outgoing director Christina Wilsdon.

Last year, about 70 artists showcased work and performed at the festival, but as many as 120 have been featured in the past.

Woodblock Festival

July 21-23

Volunteer Sareta Shae said Fort Good Hope's Woodblock Festival was ahead of the game this year, with its headlining act already decided.

Winnipeg's Seaweed Band will be the featured act at the sixth biannual event, which Shae hopes will draw people from around the Sahtu region.

She said the Woodblock Music Society was busy raising money. Its mandate is to do all the fundraising itself, without outside funding.

"All the sweat, blood and tears comes from us," she said, adding that more volunteers are needed.

Open Sky Festival

June 30-July 2

Fort Simpson's sixth annual Open Sky Festival is still in the planning stages, according to volunteer Melaw Antoine, but there were some new developments.

This year's display of art and music will feature an exhibition inspired by a rafting trip down the Nahanni River.

This ties into the theme of this year's festival: "Nah a Dehe." Antoine said this is a Dene term referring to the "people, animals, land and water of the Nahanni River."

End of the Road Festival

August 25-27

This year, Inuvik's End of the Road Festival has become a society, opening it up to more funding, according to committee chairman Don Craik.

The music festival recently selected a board to run the upcoming event, and has put out a call for performers.

A warm-up event ran this past Friday to raise money and say farewell to society member James Boraski.