YELLOWKNIFE - Though conferences can be an economic boon for the city of Yellowknife can pose special challenges according to those who organize them.

Jonathan Pringle, of the NWT Geoscience Office, holds up a specimen of wood and mudstonea in kimberlite during the gathering of 450 geologists in the city last week. - Erika Sherk/NNSL photo

The city's most recent industry event, the Geology Association of Canada and the Mineralogical Association of Canada conference, attracted about 450 geologists from around the world.

It was organized by the NWT Geoscience Office, which is operated through a federal and territorial government partnership.

It was the first time the city had hosted the annual event, said Karen MacFarlane, conference organizer and NWT Geoscience Office geologist.

"Four hundred and fifty is a comfortable size, otherwise you start running out of stuff," she said with a laugh.

Most conference-goers stayed in hotels around the city, which was a logistical challenge in itself, said MacFarlane.

There weren't enough rooms to keep them only in the hotels where the conference was held - the Yellowknife Inn and the Explorer Hotel.

"They were all over the place."

Attendees had to be divided around the city's hotels and bed and breakfasts to find enough spaces, she added.

It was especially challenging to bring in specialty items like the 450 lanyards to hold name tags, she said, with the ice bridge breaking up during their last weeks of preparation.

Pat Thagard, owner and operator of Behind The Scenes, an event and conference organizing company in Yellowknife, said the city's size does put a limit on how big events can be.

"I would have to agree we've got pretty limited conference venues here in town," she said.

"Conferences could go larger but you're limited by the facilities."

However, she said that despite the unique challenges of Yellowknife, the city has its special draws as well.

"A lot of times people will come from far and wide to attend conferences here because it's Yellowknife," she said. "It's a once in a lifetime experience."

James Beard, a geologist from the Virginia Museum of Natural History, was a prime example.

"Frankly, I wanted to see Yellowknife," he said.

The challenges to the organizers are not insurmountable, said Thagard, and the many conferences held in Yellowknife attest to that.

Positive comments from the other geologists backed that up, too.

"I really enjoyed it," said Andrea De Stefano, a geology grad student from Victoria, B.C.

He had attended a seminar on diamonds the day before.

"Most experts in the field in Canada were there," said De Stefano. "It was really interesting."

The positive economic impact of so many conferences is significant, said Thagard.

"They're spending money in our community and it's not only the accommodation and travel industries that are benefiting," she said.

"Retail is benefiting, local artists and galleries."

A vigorous social schedule was also tucked in between seminars and discussions for the visiting geologists - as is the case with many industry events. In the case of the rock hounds, they visited the golf course and several restaurants and bars.