Weather, weddings shake up Delta spring festival schedule

The traditional schedule for jamboree season in the Beaufort Delta is being flipped this year, with Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchic kicking things off at the end of March.

Ben Contenti, Tsiigehtchic's recreation co-ordinator, says the decision to start off the jamboree season instead of ending it came down to two factors.

"One reason was that there is going to be a wedding in the region and a number of our recreation committee members and volunteers will be attending that wedding, so we decided to move the dates so that we could have all the volunteers we need to run a community event like this."

The other reason came down to weather.

"Last year we had our jamboree April 22-24, and the ice moved on May 9," Contenti said. 

"So just two weeks after our jamboree finished, the ice moved. That's cutting it a little close, I think."

Contenti also said colder weather is better for jamborees, compared to having them when the snow is slushier.

"I think a big part of jamborees are Ski-Doo races, so I think colder, drier snow is better for racing in and also we do some snowshoe races, and snowshoeing in wet, sticky snow is not easy or particularly fun."

A month earlier

The dates that Tsiigehtchic was originally considering were April 28-30. Instead they've moved it up to March 24-26.

Fort McPherson will be having its festival a week later.

Stephanie Peterson, recreation co-ordinator for Fort McPherson, says their date change also came down to a wedding occurring in the hamlet, and they also factored in the weather.

Usually, Fort McPherson has its jamboree after Easter so that the hamlet can dance — it's tradition that the hamlet doesn't dance during Lent.

David Phillips, senior climatologist for Environment Canada, said this winter in the North has been warmer than expected for the past three months. However, he believes February will be colder across the N.W.T.

"The models seem to suggest that the second half of winter may be a little bit more winter-like, more typical than the first half of winter," he said.

Jamboree dates:

• Mackenzie River Jamboree (Tsiigehtchic) - March 24-26
• Peel River Jamboree (Fort McPherson) - March 31-April 2 
• Muskrat Jamboree (Inuvik) - April 7-10
• Mad Trapper Rendezvous (Aklavik) - April 14-17
• Beluga Jamboree (Tuktoyaktuk) - April 21- 24