INUVIK - For Donna and Bill Howse, seeing the sunrise in Inuvik required a long flight and some knowledge about the town.

Donna Howse, Bill Howse, Galen Hartviksen and Tammy Bedard were in Inuvik last week for the Sunrise Festival. The Howses won a radio contest to visit Inuvik for the festival. Hartviksen and Bedard were in town representing the radio station. - Dez Loreen/NNSL photo

The couple from Bowden, Alta., won a trip to Inuvik for the Sunrise Festival through their local radio station.

Station CKLJ based out of Olds, Alta., held the contest. To win, contestants had to correctly answer a few questions about our town.

The contest was a joint effort by the Department of Industry, Tourism and Investment and Rick Lindsay.

Lindsay said he contacted the Alberta radio station through his fireworks dealer.

He said he has been trying to arrange a contest to bring southerners up for the winter festival for years, but it only came through this year.

"I've talked about bringing people up before," said Lindsay.

"I attempted it for the 10th, 15th and 20th anniversary of the show."

First Air and the Mackenzie Hotel helped sponsor the trip for the group.

Tammy Bedard, CKLJ's marketing co-ordinator, joined the couple on their trip north.

Bedard said the contest was based on trivia about Inuvik and the Northwest Territories.

"We weren't sure what the participation would be like, but it was phenomenal," she said.

The trivia information was compiled by Bedard and regional tourism officer Judith Venaas.

Fifteen questions were asked over a week of broadcasting and the winners were chosen at the week's end.

"Promotions like this are good at both ends of the spectrum," said Bedard.

"For the people in Alberta, they learned a lot about the town here."

While the radio crew was in town, they sent live feeds back to Alberta, so their listeners could keep track of the group and their adventures.

"They were hearing our first-hand account of it, rather than us talk about what we did later on," she said.

Donna Howse said she was excited to visit the Beaufort Delta.

"It's my first time this far north, but not my last," she said.

When they arrived in Inuvik, the group was taken to Tuktoyaktuk with Up North tours.

"We had a wonderful trip on the ice road," said Donna.

Bill Howse spent years driving a truck and said the ice road was in terrific shape and was a delight to travel on.

"I've been on some ice bridges and things, but nothing like that, it was awesome," he said.

Visiting the community of Tuk was a highlight for the group.

"We met some nice people in Tuk and the drive was fantastic," he said.

The memory of their visit to the landmark ice house in Tuk had Bill laughing.

"I was the only one out of our group who went down into the ice house," he said.

"Being here really gives you an idea of what the North is really about."

Arctic Chalet was also involved in the trip and hosted a sled ride for the group.

Donna said it was her first time on a dog sled.

"I was scared and nervous until the first 10 seconds," she said.

"And then I was getting into it, holding the sled one-handed and having fun."

Donna said she is recommending a winter trip to Inuvik for her friends and she wants to return, but in a warmer setting.

"I'd love to come back in the summer," she said.

"I'm sure we'll be back."

The couple have a message for their friends who live in Alberta about northern winter.

"You haven't seen nothing yet," said Bill.

"This is a real winter."