Yellowknife (Dec 20/04) - With an aim to keep Caribou Carnival afloat and running smoothly, the festival has hired a full-time co-ordinator.

Carol Van Tighem, with several years experience planning community events -- including a two-year run with Raven Mad Daze -- has been chosen to work for the carnival in what is hoped will be a year-round position.

Festival president Pat McMahon said past troubles and a desire for a successful 50th anniversary next spring is the main reason the carnival decided to go from hiring a seasonal staffer to acquiring a full-time organizer.

"It's just too awkward to gear up in a short period of time, and that's one of the problems we've had in the past -- there's been no continuity," said McMahon.

"We want to stabilize that and have continuity between the carnival that's held in March to the carnival that's held the following March."

Two years ago, the carnival almost collapsed because of a lack of volunteers. McMahon said even though time is short, she is confident there will be enough volunteers for the festival's 2005 edition.

"Quite a number of people have already said they will volunteer to do different things," said McMahon. "I'm quite happy with the response."

Van Tighem said her first priorities are to make sure that they have enough sponsors on board, and find out what people want to see next time around.

"We're going to be putting flip charts in different locations, and get anybody that walks by to write down their ideas of what to include," said Van Tighem.