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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Although royalty is visiting only a small portion of the vast territory, people from across the NWT are uniting in Yellowknife to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

Prince William and his new bride, Catherine Middleton, have started the sixth and penultimate leg of their Canadian tour, which includes none other than the NWT capital.

The couple touch down in Yellowknife at about 7:40 p.m. today and will stay one full day in the area before heading to Calgary Wednesday.

Micheal Green will be at Somba K'e Park outside city hall on Tuesday morning for the official welcoming ceremony. Green, leader of the Paulatuk Moonlight Drummers and Dancers, will have a troupe of 12 drummers and dancers join the Dettah Drummers in the celebrations, and he said he's thrilled to be a part of the day's events.

Green will lead the drum song and dance and said he will be dressed in traditional attire, which might include a prominent loon headdress. The drummers range in age from 16 to about 40.

"To perform for the royal couple, it's once in a lifetime you can get a chance like that," he said.

"I'm not too sure if they've ever seen Inuvialuit drum dancing before in their lives. I guess now they'll finally see Western Arctic drum dancing."

Green said before any performance he ensures the group is prepared and sends out a positive message to all the drummers.

"A few minutes before the performance, we make sure everybody's ready and we say, 'Do your best and have fun.'"

Along with remarks by Premier Floyd Roland and Prince William, the ceremonial events include the participation of youth ambassadors from across the territory, Dene hand

games and Inuit sports demonstrations.

From dancing and drumming to songs and fiddling, children from across the NWT will be offering musical gifts to William and Catherine.

The Kole Crook Fiddlers are spending their ninth summer camp season in Yellowknife for the first time and will be performing for the royal couple at the capital's legislative assembly, where the pair will also sit in on youth parliamentarian debates.

Kole Crook Fiddle Association president Gerda Hazenberg said about 16 fiddlers ranging from ages nine to 17 from across the NWT will make up the troupe.

"We feel that we represent a strong cultural tradition of the Northwest Territories, so we're really happy that the kids are able to perform for the duke and duchess," she said.

There will be more going on in the legislative assembly than music, as Tim Mercer, clerk of the legislative assembly, explained. The 19 student representatives from across the NWT who participated in the 2011 Youth Parliament in May will reconvene to continue some of their debates with the royal couple present, and even try and to engage them in some of the discussions.

Mercer said the royal couple will sit at the clerks' table, with the MLAs in their seats and the youth parliamentarians in an inner circle. Elder parliamentarians from last year's session will observe form the gallery.

Mercer said the session will only last about 25 minutes. Following the debates, the royal couple will be shown the mace and given a tour of the Great Hall.

"If you look at the theme for the royal visit, it's past, present and future - the service of the past, current service and future service - so, the inclusion of the elder parliamentarians, the youth and the existing members embodies all of that," Mercer said. "The focus is really on youth."

The royal couple will fly to Blachford Lake Lodge on Tuesday after their visit to the legislative assembly. They'll also tour the site, speak to students and leaders from the Dechinta bush studies program as well as Canadian Rangers before returning to Yellowknife for one more night. Prince William and Catherine are travelling with an entourage of seven, as well as close to 1,400 accredited journalists from around the world who are documenting the trip. This is the duke's third trip to Canada, but his first time in the NWT. It's the first time the duchess has been in the country.

Wills and Kate leave Yellowknife Airport on Wednesday to make their way to Calgary for the Stampede, the final stop of their nine-day, seven-city Canadian tour.

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