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Char mascot in midst of flash mob Loud music and performance by dancers erupts after Canada Day parade
NNSL staff
Northern News Services
Published Friday, July 5, 2013
IQALUIT
A flash mob to the jigging sounds of music by Simeonie Keenaina erupted in the midst of the aftermath of the Canada Day parade in Iqaluit July 1.
Charly the Char points to the sky in front of a group of dancers during a flash mob near the Alianait big top tent after the Canada Day parade in Iqaluit on July 1. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo
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Charly the Arctic Char, the mascot of Nunavut Tourism, was front and center near Alianait’s big top tent.
The flash mob was in celebration of the spring char run down the river to the sea, said Colleen Dupuis, CEO of Nunavut Tourism.
"Spring and fall char fishing is a way of life in Nunavut and should be celebrated and shared," Dupuis said. “Recreational sport fishing is a major attraction and has massive potential to grow into a viable tourism industry with many employment opportunities."
The Arctic char spends most of its life in tundra lakes, descending to the ocean for a few months each summer to feed on plankton, shrimp and cod, returning in late summer to spawn and overwinter in the fresh water lakes.
"Any self-respecting sea run Arctic char would have been impressed with the moves Charly and friends pulled out – flashy fishing steps and Inuktitut style."
Christine "Lil Bear" Lamothe, an Iqaluit dance and fitness instructor as well as co-owner of Saimavik (a Place of Happiness), helped Nunavut Tourism and the Department of Environment to secretly organize, prepare and practice for the flash mob event, which is described as a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, then quickly disperse, often for the purposes of entertainment, satire, and artistic expression.
A video of the flash mob is posted on the Nunavut Tourism Facebook page.
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