IQALUIT - Whether you were looking for a pair of new duffel socks or a bag of homemade bannock, the craft sale at the elder's qammak in Iqaluit was the place to be on April 9.

Jeannie Padluk sells bannock with a smile at a craft sale at the elder's qammak in Iqaluit on April 9. - Kassina Ryder/NNSL photo

"Bannock always sells," said elder co-ordinator Lizzie Kelly.

Elders worked all morning to make sure fresh bannock was available for craft sale visitors, she said.

Kelly said there were only a few tables at the sale, so items sold out fast.

"We didn't really have much, but everything is almost gone," she said.

Homemade mittens, duffel socks (kamikpaks) and bags of bannock were available, along with homemade hats.

Elder Enuapik Sagiaqtuq used a sewing machine to make her homemade mitts, which helped her make many pairs in a short time, she said.

"They didn't take long," Sagiaqtuq said in Inuktitut.

Iqaluit's elder's qammak usually attracts between 15 and 20 elders every afternoon, Kelly said.

While there is a core group that attends the centre every day, she said she hopes more elders will take advantage of the facility.

"There are lots of elders here in Iqaluit," she said. "We would love to have more elders come down."

Kelly said the craft sale was being used to fundraise for an elders' gathering in August. Elders across Nunavut and Nunavik will arrive in Iqaluit for a week of games and traditional activities, Kelly said.

Events will take place both in Iqaluit and out on the land, she said. Traditional clothing fashion shows, a feast and a craft sale are scheduled to take place within the community. Elders will also be taken out on the land to go blackberry picking and play games, Kelly said.

The elders' gathering is an annual event that takes place in a different community each year, she said. Last year's gathering took place in Inukjuaq, Nunavik.

When asked how much money the craft sale was expected to raise for the gathering, Kelly said the group didn't have a goal in mind.

"It doesn't really matter, so long as we make a little," she said.