Reviving a boomtown feeling
End of the Road Music Festival channels saloon vibes of Inuvik's past
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, March 16, 2017
INUVIK
The boom days of Inuvik might be over but the spirit is still alive and kicking.
Daniel Rogers, the youngest son of late James Niuluq Rogers, plays on stage. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photos
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Last weekend's End of the Road Music Festival aimed to capture that feeling and continue the long-running Inuvik tradition to gather, dance and enjoy each other's company.
"Back then there was still live music six days a week in the old Trapper," said Robert Whitford, president of the End of the Road Music Festival Society, about when he first came to Inuvik.
"Fast forward 11 years, a lot of that is gone now but that influence is still there locally."
Whenever there's an event at the rec centre, that saloon, tavern, dance hall influence comes out in the music and community, he said.
"Anything that gets the toes tapping and gets people up and dancing and interacting is always one of the goals of music performed locally," said Whitford.
This year, the festival was dedicated to the late James Niuluq Rogers, part of the Delta Good Time Band an influential icon in the Northern music scene. An award was presented to the Rogers family, and his youngest son, Daniel Rogers, performed in the festival.
"We wanted ... to make sure we got that in there as the major impetus behind this year's production of the festival," said Whitford.
He wanted to do something different this year other than just hire local bands, which is why the Green River Tribute Band was recruited for the show.
Putting on this year's show, which spanned three days, was a big job for Whitford and the society.
He harkened back to the 1970s, one of the golden eras of Inuvik.
"Everything was going on here," said Whitford. "More than a handful of places to have a beer at, more than a handful of community events going on. Things were really bustling in this community. Now with the economic downturn, non-profit groups like ours are left holding a rather empty bag."
But good custodians of the culture that they are, they managed to find the money somewhere, even if it meant board members putting airline tickets on their own credit cards until they could pay themselves back.
"This board does a tremendous amount of work for free," said Whitford.
Janet Boxwell, another organizer, was beaming about the large crowd at the Children First Centre on Saturday, March 11. Roughly 50 people showed up, from children to elders, for an afternoon of family friendly music.
"This is who this is for," said Boxwell after performing with her group, the UkuLadies and Friends.
"We're really trying to make (the festival) inclusive, and I think for a lot of years the focus was on the wet dance at the end of Friday and Saturday nights, but a whole segment of the population is not interested in participating or can't, including children and elders. Folks are here to enjoy music, and boy it's been a lot of fun today."
For future events, Whitford said the board is always in need of volunteers and encouraged people to come to the meetings.
"If you've got any questions, concerns, complaints or helpful ideas, it's one thing to approach the board members or the executive, but it's another thing to come out to the meetings," he said.
"We really need to hear those ideas at the meetings."
