Yellowknife (Apr 02/03) - For Gulen Bebb Caribou Carnival is all about the dogs -- hotdogs that is.

Bebb is the Gevati hotdog man. He has been serving up food at the Caribou Carnival since 1995.

"People like to come and eat," Bebb said on Friday, quickly giving each dog a once over with his tongs at his grill set up in the City Hall parking lot.

Hotdogs aren't the healthiest food in the world. Neither is cotton candy, french fries, or too much sugar on a stick, even if it is good ol' Canadian maple syrup.

But that doesn't stop people from lining up for it and shelling out a couple of dollars for a serving that -- let's face it -- costs pennies to make at home.

But Jessi Casebeer knows carnival food is more than just over-priced calories. She lined up for french fries on Friday, on a break from her shift in the cotton candy truck.

"It's all pretty bad," she said when asked about how healthy carnival food actually is.

But money raised by her cotton candy-making friends goes towards their Yellowknife Polar Bear Swim Club, she explained.

And you can't get cotton candy at home.

Tim Canam, president of the Polar Bear Swim Club said "it's been a good fundraiser over all," while twirling some cotton candy on a stick.

Blue floss has proven more profitable than pink for some reason, said Canam.

This year the club, who has set up a concession stand at carnival since the late 1970s, stuck primarily with pink floss.

But Canam said no matter what the colour is, "after a long weekend of making it, you sure smell like the stuff."

The carnival's one-day run this year won't be spectacular for the Polar Bear Club's fund-raising, but the crew enjoyed themselves, even with one of their two candy floss machines out-of-commission.

Bebb also complained about the one-day festival this year, saying that aside from affecting his sales, he didn't bother bringing different kinds of food, like kebabs.

"Look around," he said softly. "Look at these people. They want more things to do."

And you can bet, that means they want more fun food to eat.