 | Home page |  | Text size |  | E-mail this page |
Mackenzie Days may be cancelled Combined council says no facilities available for popular annual festival
Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, July 18, 2013
DEH GAH GOT'IE KOE/FORT PROVIDENCE
The future of Mackenzie Days is looking uncertain on the eve of its 40th anniversary.
Charlotte Landry competes in the doubles jigging competition at the family talent show at last year's Mackenzie Days in Fort Providence. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo
|
On July 8, the Fort Providence Combined Council Alliance, comprised of the Hamlet of Fort Providence, Deh Gah Got'ie First Nation and the Fort Providence Metis Council held a meeting to discuss the annual summer celebration.
The council made a joint decision not to host Mackenzie Days this year due to a lack of available facilities. A notice outlining the decision was posted around the hamlet.
Undergoing repairs
If there are no facilities to hold it in, such as the Fort Providence recreation centre, which is undergoing repairs and upgrades, Mackenzie Days will likely be
cancelled, said Trinette Farcy, a member of the Mackenzie Days Committee.
The committee hasn't made any official plans on how to respond to this decision, she said, adding the committee wasn't invited to the meeting, and no official letter has been received yet.
Mackenzie Days is held annually during the August long weekend. This year's event was going to be its 40th anniversary.
Upset by decision
Loretta Landry said she was upset to hear about the decision. Landry, currently living in Grande Prairie, Alta., was on the committee for seven years.
"I'm just disappointed with the leadership in the community," she said.
The committee was never given credit for the way it had been trying to reinvent Mackenzie Days in recent years, she said.
The goal was to make the celebration more family oriented and to move away from the history of excessive drinking and youth getting into mischief that had troubled the event in the past.
Some residents who just wanted the dance and adult talent show were unwilling to accept the changes, Landry said.
"People expected the status quo," she said.
In addition to running Mackenzie Days, the committee also donated some of the money it earned to support local youth.
Money for gas was donated last year for Deh Gah School's track and field team to go to the NWT Track and Field Championships in Hay River and snowshoes were purchased for the pre-school two years ago.
Some of the outdoor Mackenzie Days events, like the canoe races and handgames, could still happen if more people were willing to volunteer, said Landry. It would be nice if members of the combined council alliance volunteered, she said.
| 
