YELLOWKNIFE - Ah spring, when a young heart turns to... shovelling snow?

Spring in the North is always an odd affair; mixing the joy of warming weather with the fear of having it all snatched away by another "last gasp" of winter.

Rick Poltaruk, right, and Gary Tees perform during the Ho Ho Christmas show at the Top Knight in November. Rick and his ever-ready Relics return for another dinner-and-a-show event in Keep Shoveling, It's Spring, which starts Thursday, April 19. - NNSL file photo

With that in mind, Rick Poltaruk found the inspiration for his latest dinner-and-a-show extravaganza: Keep Shovelling, it's Spring, which opens April 19 at the Top Knight.

"I thought, 'What is spring to me? Well, it's another day to keep shovelling,'" he said with a laugh on Wednesday morning.

"I rest my case, it's snowing outside as we speak."

Keep Shovelling follows the success of last year's Ho Ho Christmas Show, which packed music (and food) lovers into the Top Knight for three nights of raucous, comedic fun.

Poltaruk said this show would have a bit more of a vaudevillian flair, separating the "music" stage and the "skit" stages a bit.

However, he said the show would have the same successful mix of music and comedy that made Ho Ho so popular, as well as many of the same players.

Poltaruk will be joined by his Relics (Gary Tees and Percy Kinney) once again, as well as the "Yk Doo Wappers," which includes Connie Hinchey, Kelley Merilees-Keppel, Karen Rawson, Jim Taylor, Lindsay McKay, Howard McKay and Mike Hilchey, and host Sean Daly.

The show is set to include many classic and original songs about the season, about love, sunshine, and all those good things... to a point, of course.

"As usual, it's with our own twist," he said. "You know, nothing is sacred."

While Poltaruk is usually quick with humour, he said he takes these events, and what they mean to emerging artists in Yellowknife, very seriously.

"You know, the truth of the matter is Yellowknife is starting to support its artists," he said, particularly its professional, and semi-professional performers. He also said he was surprised by the number of sponsors willing to help an explicitly "for-profit" event.

"(The artists) need to be reaping in part of the profits," he said. "Whatever is made, they should all get their share."

That said, he's looking forward to the event.

l"It was a good party last time, it should be a good one here, too."

The fun runs from April 19-21.