Strong traditions, great weather, and the last-minute decision to add sled-dog races helped attract large crowds to Dettah over the weekend for the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (YKDFN) 2024 Spring Carnival.
Main organizer Theresa Lynn, her staff and volunteers, were kept busy during the YKDFN Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
Main organizer Teresa Lynn also thanked the volunteers and strong corporate sponsorship for making the event a success.
“The carnival is important to the community because it’s an event we look forward to all year long,” she said after Sunday evening’s community feast, which marked the closing of the three-day event.
Many of the various events have connections to the Dene people’s past of respectfully living with the land and Indigenous traditions.
These carnivals also mark the spring equinox
“It brings the community together and it brings together lots of other people as well. Really, it’s just a really fun weekend for everyone.”
The YKDFN’s recreation co-ordinator said she asked her father-in-law, local musher and member of the Yellowknife Dog Trotters Association, Ernie Campbell, if it was possible to add sled-dog races to the scheduler the first time.
Officials give the countdown at the start of a sled dog race at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
“I was at his house and over dinner just asked him if he thought it would be possible to have a race in two weeks. We’re able to get it all together, with help from Ernie and Sholto Douglas (of the Thebacha Dog Mushers Association) and we pulled off an amazing race.”
The dog races route took the teams past Ndilo on Yellowknife Bay where they would turnaround and return.
Events throughout the weekend included a fishing derby, youth hand games tournament, talent show, a drum dance and a community feast.
Other contests included log sawing, log throwing, snowshoe races, pond hockey and cake baking.
Some of the events and activities were not so much linked to an ancestral history.
On Sunday night, after Lynn handed out prizes for events such as log sawing, log throwing, snowshoe races, pond hockey and cake baking, there were also prize draws for video games and small appliances.
Temperatures all weekend were around the warmer side of freezing.
By Sunday night, the well-travelled ice road between Yellowknife and Dettah was thick with slush and axle-deep water in some stretches.
A dog gets some last minute encouragement at the start of a sled dog race at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
Officials prepare for the start of sled dog races at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
A snowshoeing traffic jam as part of races at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
Some mishaps occurred during snowshoe races at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
Elders played some of their own games at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
The indoor kiddie carnival was busy all weekend at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival on the weekend. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
The three-day YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival ended Sunday night with a community feast of barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
The three-day YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival ended Sunday night with a community feast. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
Eager hounds at the YKDFN 2024 Spring Carnival. (Photo by James O’Connor.)
