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ARVIAT
Hundreds of people celebrated the inaugural AgnicoEagle Mines (AEM) Family Day in Arviat this past month.

Among the festivities were a community barbecue, live music with Abraham Eetak and his band, a performance by the Arviat cultural group Qaggigtiit, and a number of activities for the kids, including an inflatable bouncy castle and a cotton candy machine.

AEM had 16 representatives in Arviat for the day, many of whom visited the community for the first time.

The AEM reps had the chance to tour the Margaret Aniksak Visitor's Centre, as well as the local sewing and crafts centre, Kiluk Ltd.

The visitors also got to view the training facilities owned by the hamlet and being used for the Arviat Diamond Driller's Training Program.

A special meeting between the AEM reps and Arviat Mayor Bob Leonard and MLA Dan Shewchuk was also held.

Hamlet economic development officer Keith Collier said AEM has held similar events in Baker Lake and Rankin Inlet.

He said the company hires a lot of its Meadowbank employees from Arviat, and wanted to establish a presence in the community.

"AEM provided the funding and asked up to help with the administration and organization of the event," said Collier.

"Among the AEM representatives who came to Arviat, there was a good mix of upper management from the Nunavut side of its operations, and mid- to upper-level management from its head office.

"We had a very good turnout for the day, with, I'd say, about 400 or 500 kids and a couple of hundred adults participating.

"The kids had a great time and the adults seemed to appreciate the food, music and the fact their kids had something to do for an afternoon."

Collier said Family Day also gave the hamlet the opportunity to unveil its bouncy castle for the kids.

He said it was an instant hit with the younger set.

"We had eight volunteers at the castle at all times to help with crowd control because the lineup was huge.

"People commented on the fact they'd never seen the kids that organized at the community hall before while lined up, waiting for their turn.

"Most of the kids in our community had never seen the bouncy castle before, so it was a lot of fun for them."

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