She was talking about Ollie the Omingmak (Innuinaqtun for "muskox"), the muskox mascot for our Omingmak Frolics which had somehow disappeared, hours before the Frolics opening parade was to begin. Apparently a panicked email was sent around the government of Nunavut, frantically trying to locate the costume in time for the festivities.
Eventually, Ollie turned up - at the parade. Apparently Housing had kidnapped him. Or maybe that was the plan all along. Either way, all is well that ends well.
On the day of the parade, I was craving a slushie. Clearly I am slowly turning into a Northern kid, seeking out sugary ice in -15 degree weather. I was heading for the co-op when my friend persuaded me to just head for the parade, where they'd be giving out freezies. Deal. I was now on a mission to score some freezies at the parade.
"Do you have any freezies?" I demanded.
"Hi Gloria!" she greeted. "Are you here to watch the parade?"
"I hear you have freezies. I want a freezie."
She gave me a freezie, but it wasn't frozen. It was still delicious. I went to go hunt for some more.
Holding a parade in the Arctic is not an easy feat, even when summer is just around the corner. Any costumes you wear have to be designed to fit over your jacket. The crowd is diligent in braving the cold weather to stand outside (and collect candy) but when the floats have passed by, we all huddle inside our cars to warm up until the parade comes by again.
muskox!
department of health, festively resuscitating
the elders' bus, keeping the elders nice and warm
i particularly love this float!
It was a fun time. By the end, the parade had kind of splintered off to different routes, everyone going their own way. The stuffed muskox was looking kind of ragged and falling apart. Kids were still biking all over town, trying to find whatever candy had been missed. It was chaos, but a happy kind of chaos. Also, I ate like five freezies.
photo by kerri