Arviat (Dec 01/03) - The community of Arviat saw a sudden increase in the number of residents this past month.

The new residents quickly busied themselves with all sorts of activities and are expected to hang around the community until at least early spring.

These new community members came about as the result of the first annual snowman building competition put on by the Arviat Youth Piliriqatigiit (Working Together).

The group, consisting mainly of youth, with a few adults to provide guidance, focuses on suicide prevention and providing activities for youth in the community.

Two separate groups, Arviat Piliriqatigiit and the Arviat Youth Group, came together to form the new organization a few months ago.

Kukik Baker spearheaded the snowman competition, which attracted 18 entries.

She said the competition is just one example of many projects Arviat Youth Piliriqatigiit plans to sponsor in its attempts to provide productive and fun activities for local youth.

"Each of the 18 groups to compete in the competition was comprised of family members, so it really was an activity that provided quality time together for many family members," Baker said.

"The entries were very well done. Most of the families were quite creative."

The competition was judged by a four-member panel.

The winners each received a $50 gift certificate from the Northern store.

Baker said the winners are not allowed to buy tobacco products but have to use the gift certificates to purchase something that can be enjoyed by the whole family.

"Family involvement was one of the driving points behind the competition, so we wanted to set it up so all those involved with the winning efforts shared in the prizes.

However, winning prizes wasn't the main objective of the competition, she stressed.

"It was an event that gave a number of our youth something to do for a whole day while at the same time enjoying the day with their families."