Handshakes, demos and swag: welcome to the Nunavut Trade Show

Sarah Clark, left, of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation speaks with Kriz Sarte at the Nunavut Trade Show Sept. 21.

The crew from Canadian North were all smiles at the Nunavut Trade Show in Iqaluit Sept. 21. From left: Emily Kenneally-Sloan, Nanuq, Cindy Twerdin and Brian Tattuinee. (PHOTOS BY BETH BROWN)

Harry Ell mans the Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium booth to let Nunavummiut know what courses are offered for those interested in the marine industry.

Bibi Bilodeau shows off samples of circuits and breakers kept in her trusty electrical snap circuit kit.

“It gives a fun model of how electricity works,” said the Skills Nunavut staffer, who was running the organizations’ table at the Nunavut Trade Show this year.

The group promotes trades and technology for high school students and works with apprentices in the territory.

Bilodeau’s booth was just one of many at the annual trade show and conference that ran Sept. 19 to Sept. 21 at Iqaluit’s Arctic Winter Games Arena.

At a neighboring table, the Qaggiavuut Society shared with passersby its ongoing effort to build a performing arts centre in Nunavut.

And, one more table over, Sarah Clark of the Arctic Children and Youth Foundation passed out ballots for a free seal skin coat while telling trade-show attendees about a mental health initiative the foundation has on the go.

“Right now we have a mental health program for youth that helps them understand the idea of trauma in the context of Inuit history,” she said. The program teaches tools for coping with trauma, for identifying emotions and helps youth connect with resources in their communities.

The foundation will bring seven communities together to run its next set of programs in Cambridge Bay, Rankin Inlet and Pond Inlet in 2018.

At a table for the Iqaluit-based commercial drone operator, Arctic UAV, Glenn Williams was showing off computer imagery of a mapping project completed this summer for the Government of Nunavut’s department of Culture and Heritage.

Through a series of 1,200 photographs taken with an eBee drone, the company created a 3-D model of Kodlunarn Island in Frobisher Bay connected to attempts by European explorer Martin Frobisher to mine gold there in the late 1500s.

“You can identify individual rocks now on this island,” Williams said.

The company did a similar project for the runway at the new Iqaluit airport where the eBee drone took 1,800 photographs of a 10-kilometre-by-two-kilometre area to help create a detailed land survey and data set necessary for landing aircraft.

While the trade show brought together representatives from Inuit organizations, government departments and businesses from throughout Nunavut for the full three days, the floor was only open to the general public on Sept. 21.

Iqalummiut were invited to visit the arena to check out the tables and pick up traditional clothing, jewelry and furs from local artisans.

They were also able to score all kinds of marketing swag such as free hats, luggage tags, and lip moisturizer—along with high-fives from Nanuq, the Canadian North airline mascot.