Paul Bickford/NNSL photo
For two Saturday evenings now, residents of Hay River have loudly expressed support for frontline workers who continue to keep the community functioning in the face of the Covid-19 crisis.
The show of appreciation is called 'Make Noise, Hay River'.
People step outside of their homes at 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays and make noise, often by banging pots with large spoons and also in other creative ways.
The idea was brought to Hay River by Linda Duford.
She said she was thinking about a way to express appreciation to the frontline workers – health care personnel, the RCMP, store clerks, gas station attendants and many others – after seeing the beginning of birthday parades in the community.
"And I just thought those were fantastic and I was thinking, 'Holy cow, wouldn't it be nice if we could do something like that for our frontline workers?'" she said. "But being the type of person I am, I was thinking, 'A parade? We don't want to steal their thunder.'"
While she was considering ways to express appreciation to the frontline workers, a friend in Yellowknife happened to message her about an initiative in the United States for people to make noise to express their thanks.
"And it was like, 'Oh, my God. Here, this is something we can do. This is something completely different from the parade,'" said Duford.
That was on April 1, and the next day she went online to spread the idea around Hay River.
"And before you know it, we had quite a few people that went out and did it," Duford said.
The first 'Make Noise, Hay River' was on April 4, followed by another on April 11.
"So we decided it would be a nice thing to do every Saturday night," said Duford, who noted it's a good activity for people who are staying home during the Covid-19 crisis and something everyone can do.
"Everybody in this town has friends who still have to work," she said. "So everybody wants to do it and show their support."
Duford, a Hay River town councillor and well-known musician, estimated that about 100 people participated on April 4.
However, she noted that Hay River is so spread out that some people couldn't hear others making noise.
"What we're hoping for is that this is going to grow and maybe in a few weeks' time or a month's time every place you are in Hay River at 8:30 you can stick your head out and hear it," she said. "We want to get one collective roar just to make those frontline workers feel so appreciated."
While many people use pots and pans, Duford said they can make noise any way they want.
"We had a couple of people out with shakers, like maracas," she said. "We had a couple of people out playing the drums, like the Native-style drums. We had a lot of people honking their horns. A couple of people just hit the intruder alarms on their vehicles. We had another family that was actually outside singing at the top of their lungs."
People are asked to make noise for a minute or two.
Ten-year-old Donavin Rodger-Evans stood outside his Saskatoon Drive home to make noise on April 4.
"I was banging my drum from elementary school when I was four years old," he said, noting he wanted to thank the workers. "I really appreciate that they're working really hard through these hard times."
His mother, Trinda Rodger, also said she is grateful for the workers' dedication.
On Mansell Crescent, the Wilson family also participated in the first 'Make Noise, Hay River'.
"I think our frontline workers are doing an amazing job and to keep up what they're doing and just to be safe themselves, as well," said Shane Wilson, who says 'Make Noise, Hay River' is a great way to show community support for the workers.
Heather Coakwell noted her seven-year-old daughter Shelby Coakwell was outside their home banging a pot with a spoon to say thanks to the frontline workers.
"It's definitely something that I think that everybody needs to show," said Coakwell. "And we could hear people from our house, so that was a good thing. So I think it's going to start growing, I hope."