Sol Fest shines
Funds for fire department and fun for community
Darrell Greer
Northern News Services
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
The first annual Sol Fest fundraiser and community celebration hit Rankin Inlet earlier this month.
Angnakuluk (Maria) Friesen had the flames dancing and the crowd cheering during her performance at the Sol Fest Community Day Festival in Rankin Inlet on June 18. - photo courtesy of Mike Shouldice
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The two-day event included a gala dinner and dance with Northern Haze on June 17 and a free Community Day Festival on June 18 with additional performers The Midnight News and Angnakuluk Friesen, as well as the hamlet's Bouncy Castle attraction and lots of tasty goodies.
The Rankin Inlet Fire Department also held a giant raffle fundraiser, with the winning tickets being drawn during Community Day activities.
Fire Chief Mark Wyatt said the event went exceptionally well.
He said the department did well with the raffle, while the gala was a big success and a large crowd came out for the Community Day Festival.
"Northern Haze were a pleasure to work with, the catered meal for the gala was exceptional and everyone seemed to have a really good time," said Wyatt.
"Sunday's Community Day Festival was just incredible with the large number of people who came out.
"Our recreation department did an awesome job with the Bouncy Castle, and the brand-new bleachers were full for the entertainment, so everything about the weekend just worked out really well."
Wyatt said the entertainment was great, with local band Midnight News doing an exceptional job on Sunday and Angnakuluk (Maria) Friesen wowing the crowd with her fire dancing.
The icing on the cake for the fire department was raising funds from the raffle and gala.
Wyatt said it would be easier to just do a large-jackpot bingo and raise about $20,000 to $25,000, but there's more to it than that.
"We didn't raise that much with the festival and it was a heck of a lot more work, but the work we put into it was as much for the community as for raising money, he said.
"In my opinion it's a big win for everyone when we can make it a great event, have the community enjoy a good time and, at the end of the day, still manage to raise a bit of money.
"That's what I want to build upon for next year - to turn some fundraising into community events where everyone can come out and enjoy what we're doing."
