Organizers of Inuvik's annual craft fair look to forge ahead with event

The annual Christmas craft fair in Inuvik, N.W.T.,is long awaited every year, with the line usually starting outside of the Midnight Sun Complex on the opening night.

"It is something people look forward to every year. We have lots of participants and the hall is packed," said Mary Ann Villeneuve, the Chair of the Great Northern Arts Festival Society.

The society runs the craft fair annually at the end of November.Villeneuve said the fair typically will have up to 65 tables, with vendorsfrom across the entire Beaufort Delta Region selling crafts and food.

However, it's still up in the air what the craft fair will look like this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Villeneuve said the condensed size of the event will not be possible due to physical distancing rules, and only one vendor will be allowed per table, with potentiallyup to 25 tables.

"Only so many public will be allowed in at a time," Villeneuve added. "At this point right now, we only have one location and that's at the Midnight Sun Complex, and we are looking at spreading out the event in the community if that's possible."

The society is currently looking at all their options, including using multiple buildings in town.

Another idea they are exploring is extending the normally three-day event to an extra weekend, so that they will be able to make sure everyone can attend and sell their items.

Grant Hood, Inuvik's senior administrative officer, says the town will try to help everyone that is interested in using their facility to make sure their events are pulled off.

"We are open for business within the guidelines of the public health order. If people can have events within the order, we're there to accommodate [the] best we can," said Hood.

He said the pandemic has impacted every business and organization, including the town.

Although the craft fair will still have significantly noticeable changes such as people not being able to touch the crafts before purchasing, Villeneuve said the goal is to make sure the event continues.

"We'll just have to wait and see. It's going to be a new experience for us too," said Villeneuve. "We want to ensure everybody is safe and that everybody still has a great time."

Villeneuve said the society is open to ideas from the public.