Community members flocked to Toonik Tyme, the annual celebration of Inuit traditions and the return of spring in Iqaluit.
The festival ran April 11 to 20 and is named after the Toonik, an individual of the Tuniit people. The Tuniit lived in Greenland and the eastern Canadian Arctic before the ancestors of today’s Inuit arrived from Alaska about 1,000 years ago.
Toonik Tyme has been bringing families, friends and visitors together since 1965 to participate in activities and games that reflect and preserve Inuit culture and heritage. Community events this year included a Palauga (bannock)-making contest, dogsled races and fishing derby.
Other activities are just for fun, and Canadian North was proud to sponsor a children’s Easter egg scavenger hunt, a family sliding day, the Brian Twerdin Memorial Hockey Tournament and the Iqaluit Amateur Hockey Association games. We also sent adults on a scavenger hunt with a list of items to track down, including a traditional Inuit drum, a Canadian North route map and a Montreal Expos souvenir.
The event is highly anticipated by our community, Nunavummiut and visitors – and Canadian North employees. Read more about it on the Toonik Tyme website.
