INUVIK - Les Skinner is hoping to make the Olympic Torch Relay event in Inuvik a family affair.

It looks as though his son Matthew will be among the group that will pass through the community on Nov. 4, which will be made up of members of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC), residents, athletes and about 50 international journalists. His wife and two other sons have also volunteered for the event.

Jackie Challis, the Town of Inuvik's tourism co-ordinator, shows off a promotional sign for the upcoming Olympic Torch Relay event that hangs in council chambers. The torch relay will arrive in town Nov. 4. and Challis is still looking for volunteers to help out with the celebration. - Andrew Rankin/NNSL photo

For Les, the reason is simple.

"I think it's a really special event to have pass through Inuvik. I had absolutely no problem helping out," he said.

"First of all the Olympics don't come along in Canada very often, and second of all it's been a long time since the torch passed through Inuvik. And with the Inukshuk being the Olympic logo, the Games are symbol of the North."

En route to its final destination in Vancouver, the site of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the Olympic torch will visit more than 1,000 communities, travelling 45,000 kilometres across Canada.

Jackie Challis, the Town of Inuvik's tourism co-ordinator, is charged with the responsibility of recruiting residents like the Skinner family to volunteer during the relay festivities, which will run on Nov. 4 from 1 to 6 p.m.

She said she hopes many more residents will step forward to fill about 100 volunteer positions that range from helping out with a planned community feast, providing support for relay participants as well as escorting elders to the Olympic cauldron lighting celebration, which will take place at Jim Koe Park where the Olympic Torch Relay will end its community journey. There will also be plenty more events on the menu, including choir performances and a blanket toss.

A committee made up of community representatives, including membership from the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation and the Gwich'in Tribal Council, is working with VANOC to organize the spectacle. The group has gathered nominations for a local torchbearer and an elder fire keeper who will light the cauldron at the park celebration. Final selections are expected later this week.

"We know that people are aware that this is a huge event and they want to get involved, so here 's a perfect opportunity," Challis said.

About a dozen people signed up at the community registration night held at the community hall on Sept. 18.

To find a volunteer application, visit the town website. Applications can be e-mailed, or submitted by hand or post to the town office.

Every volunteer will receive a matching fleece, toque and scarf which will identify them as Torch Relay volunteers.

"This is something that Inuvik residents should be really proud of," Challis said. "We're hoping everyone will come out and support it as much as they can."