Adam Johnson
Northern News Services
Monday, April 9, 2007

IQALUIT - It's spring. Across the North, the days are growing longer, the wind a little less biting and the smiles a bit wider.

In Iqaluit, it also means Toonik Tyme, the city's annual spring festival, is ready to welcome the season in style.

On Wednesday, opening ceremonies will send the 42nd-annual festival out of the gates for five days of artistic, cultural and sporting events.

"It's coming together now," festival director Kris Mullaly said last week of the festival's status.

"It's insanely hectic, but everyone is doing all right."

Mullaly, who has been with the festival since arriving in Iqaluit last year, said his primary concern right now is money.

"The funding situation has been pretty dismal, I must say," he said.

"We're still trying to get money from various departments."

However, he said these problems wouldn't slow down the $200,000 festival, which is jam-packed with five days of cultural events.

First off is a festival-long silent auction at the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit museum.

Curator Brian Lunger said the event will help raise money to rebuild St. Jude's Cathedral, which fell to the hands of an arsonist in 2005.

"We just like to be involved," he said.

"We're supporting our community in ways that we are able to."

He said auction items include art in a variety of disciplines, tickets to a National Arts Centre Orchestra performance in Ottawa and a hockey stick signed by Jordin Tootoo.

"There's something for everybody," he said.

Another big draw is Northern Band Night April 12, which will feature bands from around the territory.

These include Iqaluit favourites the Northern Ramblers, as well as Taqralik Partridge, Rosalie Pissuk, Celina Kalluk and Sylvia Cloutier, The Eskies and Tim Evic.

Joining five days of hockey tournaments and cultural events will also be the annual ice sculpting tournament outside of Nakasuk school.

Organizer Mike Mifflin said the event usually draws between three and five artists each year, putting together a variety of ice creations out of a one metre by 60-centimetre ice block.

"It's local carvers who end up doing it, so it's pretty similar to the carving you see coming around," he said of the results.

While around 100 volunteers are on board at this stage, more are always welcome, Mullaly said, particularly for the major volunteer meeting 6 p.m. tomorrow, April 10, at the Arctic Winter Games arena.

"Any and all are welcome. The more the merrier," he said.