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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - An all-ages dry dance attracted a crowd of fiddle fans to the Elks Hall last Saturday night for fish chowder, bannock and music.

Sponsored by the John Howard Society and the Aboriginal Sport Circle of the Western Arctic, the night of entertainment featured a marathon concert by fiddler Lee Mandeville and lots of special guests.

Garret Jessome grooves on the corner of the Elks Hall stage as fiddler Lee Mandeville launches into a jig backed by drummer Jim Constable of Hay River. Jessome continued moving on the dance floor throughout the next series of upbeat tunes. - Daron Letts/NNSL photo

Backed by his dad, rhythm guitarist George Mandeville, bassist Ted Miltenberger and Hay River drummer Jim Constable, the local recording artist performed many of the songs off his three albums, including last year's release, My Favourites.

"It was jam packed. We had a great time. People had so much fun," George Mandeville said. "A lot of children were there and you could tell they had a good time because they were the first ones on the dance floor from the get-go."

Children and adults of all ages shared space on the dance floor throughout the evening. Some musicians in the audience also took a turn on stage.

Norbert Poitras and his brother Gerald Poitras of Fort Smith played some music and sang a bunch of songs. Morris Lockhart, the 98-year-old master fiddler from Lutsel K'e, joined the band for two songs on a fiddle he brought to the dance, as did visiting Yukon fiddler Nick Ashcroft. Several youths fiddled onstage as well.

"It is so wonderful to see adults and young people having a really good time like that," co-organizer Paul Andrew said. "It was one of those times where people came up to me as they were leaving and said we should hold this on a regular basis. A lot of people had been asking for an event like this."

Andrew said he is inspired to plan more family events like this throughout the year if he can garner the energy and support to pull it together.

Lee and his band toured the NWT festival circuit in recent weeks, appearing in Hay River, Fort Simpson and Fort Resolution. They are planning a gig in Whati soon.