Large crowd turns out for RCMP barbecue kickoff event; opening ceremony set for Friday evening

Hot dogs and hamburgers were on the menu for the opening event of Iqaluit’s annual Toonik Tyme spring festival Friday.

RCMP Const. Andrew McAllister, left, and Sgt. George Henrie tend the grill at the Toonik Tyme barbecue in front of police headquarters in Iqaluit on Friday. (Photo by Daron Letts)

RCMP officers kicked off the festivities with a free barbecue in front of their headquarters on Federal Road. Hundreds of people lined up at noon for the two-hour event.

Const. Erika Vekemen volunteered behind the grill alongside Const. Andrew McAllister and Sgt. George Henrie.

“It’s important to give back to the community, especially during Toonik Tyme,” said Vekemen. “Look at the line. It speaks for itself, and the sun is shining. It’s beautiful.”

It’s her first Toonik Tyme experience after relocating to Iqaluit from Halifax earlier this winter.

It was also civilian volunteer Bessie Agraniotis’s first taste of Toonik Tyme.

“The turnout is great,” she said. “Everyone’s nice, the volunteers as well.”

Too many volunteers to count came and went over the lunch hour, she said. Some even brought children in tow.

Harley Kakudluk was among the hundreds of people lined up for hot dogs. Originally from Qikiqtarjuaq, Kakudluk has attended a handful of Toonik Tyme events since moving to Iqaluit seven years ago.

“The games are fun,” he said. “And the hot dogs.”

The barbecue also brought Malia Kilabuk and her three children out looking for a grilled dog.

“I love it,” she said, carrying one-year-old Simonie Nauyuk, who was peeking out from the hood of her amauti.

“There’s so many of us here. I come almost every year.”

James Nookiguak’s dog Whiskey was perched on Nookiguak’s shoulder at the barbecue. He was one of several attendees to bring their dogs to the event.

Although Nookiguak stood at the end of a winding lineup that snaked beyond the RCMP parking lot and spilled out alongside Federal Road, he said he believes attendance should have been higher.

“I think we need more people out here,” he said. “It’s more fun to gather more people. It’s good for us.”

Nookiguak used his Nunatsiaq News interview to put a call out to his friends and neighbours to come out to this year’s Toonik Tyme events.

Hundreds of people line up for the free Toonik Tyme barbecue hosted by officers at RCMP V Division headquarters in Iqaluit on Friday. (Photo by Daron Letts)

Those events include the opening ceremonies beginning at 7 p.m. Friday at the Aqsarniit hotel. Bingo is also scheduled for Friday evening.

A craft fair is planned at the same venue on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

The Kimmirut snowmobile race begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday, on the sea ice. A children’s dog race will follow at 1 p.m.

For the complete schedule of events, visit the Toonik Tyme Facebook page.