Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, it's hard to believe, but this is already the last day in February. The sun is coming back on the northern horizon, GNWT procurement officers are gearing up for the final spring to the fiscal year, and the coolest venue in Canada is about to cut its doors open.
As the Member for Yellowknife North already announced, Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 30th Anniversary of the Snowking's Winter Festival. 30 years, Mr. Speaker. That is quite the feat. That's 30 years of true grassroots community building.
This festival exists because of the hard work and dedication of a scrappy group of Yellowknifers who wanted to bring some winter magic to the town's children by building a snow castle. They didn't wait for funding. They didn't wait for a communication and marketing strategy. I reckon they didn't even wait for permits, Mr. Speaker; they just did it.
That's true northern spirit, Mr. Speaker. And since its humble beginning in the 1990s, this boldness and audacity has paid off and the festival has grown into a world-renowned institution and, dare I say, the best winter festival in Canada.
Mr. Speaker, this year's festival will be running for four weeks, and the castle features a drawbridge, a dozen ice gargoyles, and a two-storey King's hall with four private snugs for your comfort and viewing pleasure. The snow castle will be home to art shows, standup comedy, music concerts of all genres from fiddle music to hip hop, dance events, puppetry, film screenings, and even larping. And, of course, a magical snow playground for kids of all ages, including everyone's favorite, the ice slides. The Snowking Winter Festival also hosts the famous International Snow Carving Symposium with some ten teams from seven countries and five Canadian territories and provinces competing under the theme Medieval Lore.
The castle opens tomorrow, and I'm happy to report that, courtesy of your Yellowknife MLAs, admission will be free for everyone tomorrow afternoon from noon until 5 p.m. so, as I do every year, I encourage everyone to come down. I encourage everyone to come down to the Yellowknife Bay and check out this year's snow castle. As the Snowking likes to say, there's no business like snow business.
Let's congratulate the 25 staff and as many volunteers that are working on this year's Snowking Winter Festival for these 30 years of absolute marvel and wish them all a blizzard of a success for the 30 years to come. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Members' statements. Member from Deh Cho.
