Every spring the people of Cambridge Bay have a celebration called Omingmak Frolics. There are a variety of festivities including traditional games, talent show (yes Craig played), tea with the Elders, fashion show etc etc. This year it started off on May 13 with a $10,000.00 jackpot bingo and it ended in the evening of May 23 with the closing ceremonies and awards presentation. The week leading up to Victoria Day Long Weekend was filled with Corporate Challenges during the lunch hour, fashion show, casino week, crowning of the king & queen and snowmobile races in the evening.
This was my first Frolics and I wanted to take in as much as possible so I started by attending the Fashion Show on the 18th. All of the clothing that the models wore were traditional clothing and were all hand made. The models ranged in age from very young to Elders showing off their craft.
Friday the town closed it's doors at noon and the annual parade began at 2pm with the local Cadets leading the way. The floats were far different from the floats down south and of course we can not forget Ollie the muskox mascot for the frolics, who sat high on a fire truck.
The Last Ikaluktutiakmiut Standing contestants were chosen that same afternoon after the parade and one of our friends Karen was in it. The game is like the fear factor game with an Inuit twist. It lasted all weekend long and Karen came up on top on Monday evening. Congrats Karen you are far braver than I!
We headed on the ice many times during the Frolics to watch the snowmobile races and to buy hamburgers from some of the local fundraisers of the community. The best snowmobile race by far was the kid's race...most of us could walk faster than their machines. Unfortunately the only girl, who by the way was only 4 years old and the one we were rooting for, did not win the race. She even had a pep talk from her mom. There was one accident during the weekend and thank goodness the driver ended up with just minor injuries.
The sun is now up for 24 hours as of Saturday May 21/11. At midnight we took Molly for a ride and then a run on Water Lake Road. This 24 hour sun thing is a really weird feeling - you get up for a pee in the middle of the night and you think that you slept in as the sun is shining brightly in the sky. The sun just goes around the horizon, never setting until late July.
There are many pictures for this entry starting off with the fashion show and ending with our 'midnight sun' ride the evening of the 21st.
This years Frolics will be one that I will remember not only as it was my first but more importantly we lost our friend Monique of cancer on Saturday, May 21. I became close to Monique in the short time I knew her and I will miss our conversations about the muskox and char harvests, her laughter, her generosity to the community and her outspoken personality. My heart goes out to Doris her life partner, her mom & dad, her sisters & family, and her friends & relatives.
I dedicate this blog entry to my dear friend Monique Giroux
whom I miss terribly.
Talk soon.
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