SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - This year's reinvention of Caribou Carnival will be big on family entertainment on-site, with adult-oriented musical evenings off-site.

There will be no alcohol served at the carnival site at Sombe K'e Civic Plaza - affectionately named Fort Caribou - but in the evenings there will be music and entertainment at bars and bistros throughout downtown. The carnival kicks off next Thursday and runs until Sunday.

Organizer Rick Poltaruk said that in between comedians, music acts, and Northern meals, carnival-goers of all ages can take in games, including a Snakes and Ladders using people as game pieces, an egg-throwing competition, and snow-bowling.

"We'll challenge parents and kids to battle it out," he said.

As usual, the entrance ticket to Fort Caribou takes the form of a button purchased from volunteers on-site or at downtown businesses. The Caribou Carnival police have been revived this year to enforce the admission fee, however Poltaruk hinted that the chief of Caribou police, Blake Lyons, may also offer a bounty-hunting service to those with enemies they want behind bars.

"He's a crooked cop, but I don't know how crooked," said Poltaruk with a chuckle.

"It's the best police force money can buy," Lyons assured.

Blake said his team isn't as strong as he'd want - it has only four members at the moment - and invited Yellowknifers to join the force.

The Caribou Cops will invite the public to record the names of criminals they think the cops should arrest. Those individuals, once located, will be put in the eight-by-eight-foot jail cell in the middle of Fort Caribou.

"I've heard that for the right price a certain person could escape but I don't know that for a fact," said Lyons. Some traditional carnival favourites have fallen by the wayside once again this year, including the Ugly Truck and Dog contest.

However, other traditions are back. The corporate challenge will take place next Friday at 12:15 on 49 Street, and there will be fireworks at the site at 9:30 p.m. that day. The Teddy Bear Hospital will be at Northern United Place on Saturday and the Cabane a Sucre will be held Sunday at the carnival site.

The start of each 50-mile leg of the Diavik 150 Canadian Championship Dog Derby will take place on Frame Lake on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m. The winners will be announced at Fort Caribou, along with the winners of the Rock and Ice Ultra ski and snowshoe race, which takes place on Saturday.

Caribou Capers will be held at the Ed Jeske arena Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Caribou Carnival Queen Heather MacKenzie will be in attendance, and the show will feature local performers, a ventriloquist, musicians, and comedians.

- See page 15 for more Caribou Carnival coverage.