Daron Letts
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 30/05) - Yellowknife residents will celebrate International Music Day tomorrow. It's the fifth year the day will be recognized in town.

Mathew Grogono, Giselle Forget and Alex Beaudin, of Yellowknife Glass Recyclers, are hosting this year's event.

There are more than enough instruments to go around for International Music Day. Mathew Grogono, Alex Beaudin and Giselle Forget, of Yellowknife Glass Recyclers, are organizing an instrument exchange and collaborative jam for tomorrow. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

Instead of pulling together another public performance, the organizers opted for something a little more creative and community-minded this year.

Artists and art lovers are invited to gather for musical conversation and skill-sharing at the home in front of their Old Town business (3510 McDonald Drive, across from Mary's Tea Room).

An instrument exchange and repair workshop runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m

Everyone is encouraged to search their closets, attics and garages for old, unused or broken instruments to pass along.

Grogono has focused on rescuing damaged instruments from the waste stream for years.

He rehabilitated a keyboard that needed a new microprocessor, a guitar with a broken bridge and dozens of other pieces that simply needed a good dusting and some TLC.

"If we get more instruments into circulation, it will increase the appetite for more local music," he said.

A 2 p.m. jam and potluck dinner will follow the instrument exchange.

"The jam is where we will exchange musical skills," Beaudin said.

The International Music Council, a branch of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), describes Oct. 1 as "an occasion for reflection and debate on the role of music and musicians traditionally celebrated through awareness-raising activities."