Restaurant Review ... and a Correction

Aurora Research Institute

First the correction. It turns out that the huge building-under-construction I thought was the new Aurora Research Institute is actually a new NWT government building. The research centre is a much smaller building; it is finished and fully functional on the inside. Outside is still a bit of a mess.

Now for restaurant review #1 ...

Here's what I wrote about the Café Gallery last time I was here: "It was recommended as having great soups, sandwiches, etc. A nice place to have a cup of coffee. 'Nice' is a stretch - and the staff was surly. Chicken soup, a bun and tea - $10."

Two years later, I have to say the Café Gallery is nice. It has art on the walls, matching chairs and tables, much more space - and the staff was really pleasant! Still, a turkey sandwich and an iced latté cost $15! It was a good sandwich, though.

Other Inuvik points of interest:
* At the library (where I have a temporary borrowing card), no outdoor footwear is allowed. It makes it cozy when everyone is padding around in their socks or bare feet. Ditto for the community college.
* Also at the library, when the phone rings, Dwayne (the manager) answers it, then yells out things like, "Charlie, your dad's outside to pick you up," or "Mona, your mom wants you to pick up milk on the way home."

 * I found another dining establishment, one that's not on the official "Places to Eat in Inuvik" list. It's called Brian's Burger Shack and it is one of those old-style chip trucks that sells, well, burgers and chips ... and poutine of all things. Apparently, Brian also makes chicken burgers (unlike Ready Reds), so I will try it out one of these days.

 * In my In my first week here, I have attended three community feasts and two jigging contests. With Canada Day and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's National Northern Event pending, more feasting and dancing are definitely on the agenda ...

My Drum Dancing Debut

If you know me, you know I love to dance. So when the Inuvik Drummers and Dancers invited members of the audience to join them onstage to learn a little number during National Aboriginal Day, I was there. The only other "outsiders" to hop to it were four seniors from Indiana.

The dance was a "skinning dance" designed to celebrate post-hunting activity. It was simple to do - mostly upper body, hand and arm movements. One of the Inuvialuit elders even gave me her rabbit fur mittens to wear while I danced, to make the experience more authentic. We performed it once to learn the moves, then we did the dance again for real.

For me, it was the highlight of the Aboriginal Day celebrations. But it wasn't my only dance performance of the day ...

Multi-talented emcee

 All afternoon and evening, the emcee kept yelling out things like, "The first five (men, women, kids, tourists, elders, etc) who (are wearing shorts, own a home, can imitate the call of a ptarmigan, etc) will win this prize."

When he yelled out, "The first person to come onstage and walk like an Egyptian wins the next prize," nobody ran. He repeated the call ... still nobody rose to the challenge. Being a diehard fan of The Bangles, I knew this was something I'd be good at,  so I ran to centre stage and did my best Egyptian impersonation. Twice. For good measure, I also threw in a side-to-side head move I'd learned in Bollywood class. The emcee was speechless; all he could do was laugh and hand me my prize - a nice black satchel courtesy of Inuvik Gas Ltd.

Earlier in the day, I'd also won a ballcap bearing the Inuvialuit logo for being one of the first five people-wearing-red to run onstage. And a woman had walked around handing out flyswatters - with the Inuvialuit logo - to anyone who wanted one. I think pretty much everybody who attended the festivities that day (June 21) came home with at least one prize.

Blanket toss

This year's National Aboriginal Day activities started mid-afternoon with Inuit games (including the blanket toss), followed by musical numbers, performances by the Inuvik Drummers and Dancers, a jigging contest and, to wrap up the celebrations, an outdoor dance under the midnight sun. A community feast carried on all afternoon 'till the food ran out (whitefish and bannock for me; reindeer meat and goose soup for braver folks).

This is my second time at National Aboriginal Day in Inuvik, and it seems to me that, as much as the occasion is about dancing and games, it's even more about gathering the community together, spending time with family, friends and neighbours. All the activities, and the down time in between, are punctuated with much hugging, laughing, chatting and connecting. And it doesn't matter if you're a local or a visitor from far, far away. Everyone is welcome to join in.

Labrador Tea on the fire

Next time, I think I'll enter the jigging contest ...