Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

ARVIAT - The annual Inumariit Music Festival had people at Mark Kalluak Community Hall stompin' and rockin' in Arviat earlier this month.

The festival featured performers from Arviat, Rankin Inlet, Repulse Bay, Whale Cove and Coral Harbour.

Peter Shamee was a big hit with crowds at the 2008 Inumariit Music Festival in Arviat earlier this month. - photo courtesy of the Mikilaaq Centre

Music festival committee president Paul Kattau said he was more than pleased with this year's event.

He said on a scale of one to 10, he'd rate the festival performers at a solid eight, with a few being a perfect 10.

"We had some very, very talented people play this year and they really got the crowds moving," said Kattau.

"We drew big crowds on the Friday and Saturday evenings and we totally sold out the community hall for the final performances on Sunday.

"The building was full and nobody wanted to go home.

"The final show started at 8 p.m. and the hamlet was good enough to allow the hall to stay open, so everything kept going until 2 a.m."

Kattau said the money for this year's festival was raised by bingo games sponsored by the committee.

He said the committee looked at chartering an airplane to bring in performers from the Kitikmeot and Nunavik regions but the cost was simply out of its price range.

"We would have loved to have had more out-of-town performers here, but you know, all the Kivalliqmiut musicians who performed put on a great show.

"Money is always a challenge when it comes to getting more performers in but we're going to try and be able to get it done for next year's festival.

"We'll also take another look at what month we hold the festival in because while October seemed to be good for the community, it was really tough getting some performers here.

"They all had good reasons for not being able to attend and I got the feeling September would be easier for them. But it's still all very tentative as far as next year's schedule goes."

Kattau said the committee really appreciates all the volunteers who helped out, as well as the great support the festival received from the municipality.

He said the hamlet helped with equipment and gave them the hall for free, allowing it to stay open late on the final night.

"The community is really excited about how the festival went and it's still buzzing from some of the performances.

"Gord Billard's band (Billard, Evan Pemik, Joseph Otuq, Ashley Mamgark and Leo Mukyunik) was huge with the crowds and both Mark Kinniksie and Peter Shamee were big hits.

"They both performed the music of the late Simon Sigariak and that just wowed the crowd.

"The Coral band, Kataujait, played very well and, of course, our veteran Kivalliqmiut performers such as Andy Aliyak and Charlie Panigoniak are always fan favourites."

Committee member John Main said it was more challenging to organize the 2008 event than in years past.

He said the festival received a lot more support in previous years in terms of administrative and funding support because it was tied to the Department of Economic Development.

"Funding was also a lot easier to come by when the festival first started during the NWT days but now it's more or less all run by volunteers," said Main.

"I'm not saying Economic Development or anyone else is to blame but we just didn't have as much money to work with this year."

The 2008 Inumariit Music Festival was broadcast live on local radio for the first time in its history.

Main said that helped spread the word on the festival and got people excited about the music being performed.

"We also streamed live on the Internet, so we had some Arviat residents attending school in the south tuned in, which was great to help them deal with their homesickness and get a taste of the festival.

"The festival is always a popular event in Arviat and it's a great time to welcome people into our community and celebrate the musicians we have in town.

"Arviat has a lot of talented performers and the festival brings out their full potential."

Main said hamlet council and the recreation department gave the festival a ton of support.

He said even the schools helped out by lending chairs for the event.

"We had the hall packed, especially the final night, so we really appreciated everyone who lent us chairs and sound equipment.

"Having a good sound system is very important because when you have that many people in the hall, you need to blast the sound so people in the back can hear it."