RANKIN INLET
Youth in Rankin Inlet are in the midst of organizing what they call a celebration of life for the second consecutive year.

Qamaniq Siksik, 18, left and Alayna Ningeongan, 16, are members of the youth team at the Kivalliq Counselling and Support Services centre who are organizing Live Love Dance, a three-day celebration of life through dance in Rankin Inlet. - Candace Thomson/NNSL photo

The Live Love Dance is a three-day dance event open to any individual or group across Nunavut. It'll be held at the community arena from Aug. 1 to 3.

Qamaniq Siksik, Alayna Ningeongan and Tagalik Eccles of the Kivalliq Counselling and Support Services youth team are organizing it in hopes of turning youth away from thoughts of suicide and towards an appreciation for life.

"We want to get people to think about life over the dance events and thinking about life," said Ningeongan. "There have been a lot of suicides in the past and we're trying to change that."

This past January, Padma Suramala, the chief coroner of Nunavut, reported 43 people took their own lives in 2013, making it the worst year for suicides since the creation of the territory in 1999. Since then, the territory has lost more than 400 people to suicide, most of whom were male.

While they are hoping this event changes this trend, they also don't want suicide and the prevention of it to be the main focus of the event.

"We don't like the name suicide prevention," said Siksik. "We wanted it to call something else and make it more about celebrating life, having fun together and making new friends across the territory."

The event will include a square dance and a square dancing competition, a jigging contest, a teen dance and a formal dance with individual and group competitions.

Siksik organized the event but was unable to attend because of other obligations.

"It was a big success, that's what I heard," he said.

"We're hoping to have people come from as many communities in the territory as possible so we can widen our reach. I think we're going to have a great time and it should be fun. I just hope lots of people sign up."

The group doesn't have to pay to rent the arena but they are fundraising in order to provide prizes for the competition winners.

"We're doing a few fundraisers, we ran a teen dance last weekend, we're having a penny sale," said Siksik.

In a press release issued by the team, they asked that any willing businesses to make their donations by July 8 and said they're having the penny sale this Saturday, July 12.

"Events of this scale are very costly, but I think we all can agree that saving and learning to embrace your life is priceless," the release states.

The deadline is July 18 for those wanting to sign up as individual dancers or groups, said Siksik.

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