Another festival will be held off this year as the Inuvik Muskrat Jamboree announced March 17 on their Facebook page that the three-day spring festival was cancelled as a safety precaution.
Organizers made the decision following consultation with the Chief Public Health officer. This would have been the 63rd annual jamboree.
"Please note we recognize there are a lot of questions for the event, perhaps even to why decisions were made," says the unattributed announcement. "While many of them were beyond our control in light of recent world events the ever-increasing vigilance, please know we did this out of concern for the health & safety of the participants, our volunteers, and our community."
The Town of Inuvik announced Monday that it was closing its venues, including the Midnight Sun Complex, Centennial Library and Town Offices, which would have been used for indoor parts of the festival. There was a possibility the festival could continue as an outdoor-only celebration during the March 27-30 weekend, but the announcement noted the committee had heard a great deal of concerns from the community about putting people at risk.
Also mentioned in the announcement was that the committee is working with the Kings and Queens contestants as to what to do with the many fundraising raffles currently underway and what to do with the money already raised.
"In terms of the raffles, fundraising, and other financial supports, please know that we are speaking with our King and Queen Contestants, our Committee, and our coordinators to find proper solutions and outcomes," says the post.
Anyone with any concerns or comments is asked to send them to muskrat_jamboree@hotmail.com. The next jamboree is already being planned for April 9-12, 2021.