Crew builds qaggiq for return of cultural gathering in Iqaluit
Builders and apprentices prepare snow-block structures for Qaggiq 2026
Iglu builders and apprentices carry snow blocks on snowmobiles as they begin work on the main qaggiq near the Sylvia Grinnell pavilion on Wednesday. Organizers asked residents to stay clear of the construction site for safety reasons as crews create the gathering space for Qaggiq 2026, a three-day cultural celebration starting on Friday. (Photo by Arty Sarkisian)
On the tundra near the Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park pavilion in Iqaluit, a crew of iglu builders began creating a large qaggiq, a traditional gathering space.
The project began Wednesday in preparation for the Qaggiq 2026 cultural celebration, hosted by the Qaggiavut Nunavut Performing Arts Centre in Iqaluit.
The free event runs Friday to Sunday, bringing together performers and Inuit knowledge keepers for drum dancing, throat singing, theatre and traditional games.
Qaggiavut executive director Looee Arreak says the structure will be built differently this year after there were safety concerns during the last gathering in 2021.
“It’s going to be a little bit bigger than the 2021 one because we’re not putting a roof over it,” Arreak said in a phone interview Tuesday.
“We’re just going to do a large wall of ice blocks as shelter from the wind for safety reasons. Last time, it was caving in very early, and it became unsafe.”
Foreman Jacoposie Tiglik started constructing the main qaggiq and two smaller iglus with the help of 15 apprentices on Wednesday.
Arreak said the physically demanding work is expected to take about two days.
The decision to revive the gathering came after requests from residents who attended the last event, five years ago, she said.
“We’ve been hearing from the public that they would love to see it again. So that’s why we wanted to hold it again as it’s a celebration of our culture and a display of how our ancestors lived, and we are here today because of them,” she said.
The gathering will take place on the land near 2015 Akilliq Dr. and close to the road to Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park. That’s a change from the 2021 event, which was held on the sea ice.
Inside the qaggiq, visitors can expect to see an Inuit village display and a recreation of traditional family life.
“There will be a family seated inside the iglu, storytelling, tea and bannock, and a welcoming place for people to warm up if they’d want to,” Arreak said.
Performers will include drum dancers from the Inuvialuit Region, the Huqqullaaqatigiit dancers from Cambridge Bay, the Tununiq Arsarniit Theatre Group from Pond Inlet, throat singers from Arviat, and local talent.
The program will also feature snow sculpture competitions, traditional clothing contests and demonstrations of Inuit wrestling and games audience members can try.
“The importance is to experience it. You can read about it, you could hear stories about it, but when you actually experience it, it gets a deeper meaning,” Arreak said.
During morning sessions, children can learn drum dancing, throat singing and Inuit games.
Mayor Solomon Awa, an iglu-builder in 2021, will open the gathering Friday.
Programming will run daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
I hope they learned from the 2021 build.
The standard igloo shape works at any size because ice and snow are strong in compression.
The grain silo design used last time was a round tower with a dome on top. That design is not good for snow and ice because they do not have much tensile strength. That’s why the last buid started cracking even before it was finished.