The dates are set for this year’s Alianait Arts Festival in Iqaluit, but residents will not get the four-day weekend organizers were hoping for.
The festival, which typically features live performances and other cultural activities, is scheduled to run July 6 to 9.
It starts on a Saturday and ends on Tuesday, July 9, which coincides with Nunavut Day — a stat holiday in Nunavut.
Festival organizers sent a letter to city council requesting logistical support from the city, primarily relating to facilities and amenities.
One of those requests included asking council to declare Monday, July 8, a civic holiday to “bridge the gap between the weekend and Nunavut Day,” according to a letter from organizers.
“We just made a civic holiday when we had Toonik Tyme, can we do another civic holiday for the community?” Mayor Solomon Awa asked, referring to the local celebration held earlier this year.
Coun. Romeyn Stevenson agreed with Awa’s question.
“That raises flags for me as well, not necessarily about whether we can do it but whether we should do it so close to another holiday we declared in April,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson asked human resources director Rod Mugford, who was filling in as acting chief administrative officer in Steve England’s absence, if the city has discussed the possibility with its largest employers, including the Government of Nunavut.
Mugford said it hasn’t, and that council would need to pass a bylaw to declare an additional civic holiday.
While rejecting the civic holiday proposal, council voted unanimously to support all of Alianait’s other requests. That includes providing garbage cans and portable toilets, reserving the Elder’s Qammaq at no charge for the festival, and renting lighting and stage equipment plus seating to the festival.
The festival has not yet announced its programming or lineup.
By Jeff Pelletier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
