ARVIAT
Children of all ages came out to enjoy the seventh annual Arviat Spring Festival this past month.
David Sewoee displays his first place artistic creation in the Arviat Spring Festival's ice sculpture contest this past month. - photo courtesy of Elizabeth Copland
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The six-day event is organized by Elizabeth Copland and Doreen Hannak.
Copland said she and Hannak make sure the festival is held during a time when the children are out of school, usually during the annual spring break.
She said, as always, a number of this year's events were aimed at children, but the spring festival always offers something for everyone.
"We had a better turnout this year than we did the year before," said Copland.
"We saw some new faces and a few more participants, so we were happy with that.
"We had all money prizes from our fundraising efforts throughout the year, which are mainly bingos.
"We did write to the airlines looking for support but, unfortunately, we didn't receive anything, so we had to go with just the cash we raised during the year as prizes."
Copland said everyone seemed to have a great time during the Arviat Spring Festival.
She said it was nice to see people in the community enjoying outdoor activities and having fun together.
"We were fortunate to have good weather during the festival.
"It's been a pretty long winter, so everyone welcomed the chance to get out and take part in the activities we came up with."
Now that the seventh annual Arviat Spring Festival is in the books, Copland said she and Hannak are going to relax and enjoy the spring and summer.
She said once the fall arrives, however, they'll be back planning the next festival.
"Even before April this year, we had people asking when we'd be holding the event and what we had planned.
"So, I went on Facebook to ask what sort of games and events people would like to see and they gave us some ideas.
"We hired three co-ordinators to run the events and they did a great job.
"We thank them, and the hamlet's recreation department for helping out."
