The Yellowknives Dene First Nation is celebrating spring with a carnival in Dettah from April 5 to 7 featuring contests, food and prizes. Here’s the schedule.
The event will kick off at 8:30am on Friday, April 5 with a feeding-the-fire ceremony on the ice road followed by a fishing derby from 9am to 2pm with $10,000 in prizes.
A hand games tournament is set to take place on Friday from 3-6pm and Saturday from 4-9pm with a total of $6,300 in prizes available.
Friday’s events close with a talent show from 8pm to midnight. Categories include singing, jigging, traditional dress, two-stepping and husband call.
Saturday’s events include a two-day sled dog race beginning at 11am with a total of $20,000 in prizes available, and a pond hockey tournament from 10am-4pm. Events at the community baseball field from 2-4pm include egg toss, log sawing, nail pounding and snow snake.
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On both Saturday and Sunday there will be a kids’ carnival from 1-4pm featuring a bouncy castle, face painting and carnival games.
The final day of the spring carnival will feature a pancake breakfast from 11am-1pm, pond hockey from 10am-11pm, outdoor events from 2-5pm including a snowshoe race, sleigh race, log throw and tea boiling, a baking contest from 5-6pm, and a community feast at 5pm.
You can find the full schedule of events and more details on the First Nation’s Facebook page.
Yellowknife councillors on Monday unanimously passed a request to declare April 5 a half-day civic holiday for residents to enjoy the start of the carnival. YK1 has said its schools will close at 12pm that day for the same purpose.
