Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
It's business as usual for the Yellowknife Elks Lodge as the Elks Club of Canada celebrates its 100th anniversary.

Ken Rogers, Elks Lodge general manager, and Cole Bruce, a new bartender at the lodge, stand outside the club entrance, Friday. - Danielle Sachs/NNSL photo

"Our chapter is not celebrating 100 years, but the Elks of Canada are," said Ken Rogers, the Yellowknife lodge's general manager.

The Yellowknife chapter was founded in 1948 and currently has 282 members.

Even though the Yellowknife chapter is younger than the parent organization, local members will still be marking the occasion.

"There will be a bunch of us going to the national convention in Chilliwack, B.C., and there are events planned across the country," he said.

In addition to attending the convention, Rogers said Yellowknife members are trying to pull the celebrations into all the activities they do normally.

They have a 100-year celebration banner that will be displayed at different events around the community.

"We just paid for the AquaVan to visit Yellowknife," said Rogers. "It's our way of saying we're celebrating 100 years."

The AquaVan is a travelling living exhibit from the Vancouver Aquarium. Featuring live aquatic animals and marine scientists who help people learn about the sea creatures, the van will be making four stops in Yellowknife. The stops begin with a Saturday visit to the Northern Skies Air Show. On Monday the van will stop at the Elks open house, then on Tuesday it will make an appearance at the SideDoor Youth Centre. Next Wednesday the van will meet exclusively with children attending the City of Yellowknife summer camps.

"In no case will there be any charges for it," said Rogers. "The kids up North never get to see this; It's a great experience."

Rogers said it's just the city camps showcasing the AquaVan that aren't open to the public.

The AquaVan is just one of the projects the club is involved in this year. Habitat for Humanity NWT is another ongoing project for the lodge.

While the Elks Lodge is not directly affiliated with Habitat for Humanity NWT, Rogers credits the Elks with bringing the orgtanization to the territory.

"We were the first major sponsor," said Rogers.

Founded in 1912, Elks of Canada has around 13, 000 members across the country.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.