LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON
Youth in Fort Simpson this year will try to sell 5,000 more tickets than last year in an effort to be crowned the king and queen of the annual Beavertail Jamboree.

Lisa Lafferty and Jay Gargan sort through Beavertail Jamboree raffle tickets on Feb. 24. Contestants in the Quest for the Crown competition hope to sell 5,000 more tickets this year. - Shane Magee/NNSL photo

The Quest for the Crown sees the top ticket sellers named king, queen, prince and princess.

"It's the highlight for the opening ceremony," said Lisa Lafferty, a member of the Beavertail organizing committee.

A total of 15,000 tickets can be sold this year, up from 10,000.

The fundraiser marks the imminent arrival of the extremely popular community festival that includes snowmobile races, traditional games, various activities for children, talent shows, two adult dances, food and entertainment.

When Deh Cho Drum asked several community members weeks ago what they were looking forward to in the coming winter months, almost all cited the jamboree.

"It's lots of fun," said organizing committee member Cindy Browning.

The event, called the "coolest celebration in the Deh Cho," comes after what's usually the worst part of the winter, marking the approaching warm weather.

"It's just a time to get together and have fun and break up the winter," she said.

An eight-member organizing team has been working to pull off the family-focused event.

Festivities kick off Sunday, March 8 with a sliding party and runs until the next weekend.

While other communities will hold flagship festivals over a weekend, Browning said that piled too many activities over too short a timespan for the village.

Representatives from the Aboriginal Sport Circle of the NWT will be in the village holding traditional games demonstrations.

There's several free meals for festival-goers, though people will have to pay for a fish fry.

The planning committee raises funds throughout the year, part of which goes to cover the prizes given out.

A $10,000 bingo will be held March 13, which is another major fundraiser for the organizers.

Beyond the adult talent show, there will be live music during the weekend and a fiddler for the jigging contest.

This year, the firefighter responsible for setting off fireworks will be away, so that aspect of the event has been shelved.

The village council declared Friday afternoon, March 13 to be a civic holiday in recognition of the event.

Councillors will be serving up breakfast again March 14 at the rec centre.