The spirit of Christmas will be out in full force this holiday season, as the Town of Hay River has plenty of festive activities planned for it’s residents.
The events will kick off on Saturday with “Breakfast with Santa” in the Community Hall. From 10 to 11:30 a.m., families are invited to come out and enjoy a free pancake breakfast with St. Nick himself.
Following the breakfast will be a Community Christmas tree decoration and present-making session in the front foyer of the Don Stewart Recreation Centre from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.

Once the decoration and present making wraps up, the three community Christmas trees will be lit up at 3 p.m., and families are invited to come out and help decorate.
As a wrap up to the day, live entertainment will be set up in the Community Hall from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., showcasing Hay River’s own talent.
The town’s Twinkle Tour will be searching for the best decorated houses with judging set for Dec. 17.
There are four categories for this year’s tour – traditional, corporate, modern and over-the-top.
Anyone taking part in the contest is asked to have their house lit up as of 7 p.m. on the 17th, as the judges will be making the rounds to evaluate the houses.
The official tour will be held on Dec. 18 at 7 p.m., and the Town Council judges will be distributing the prizes and signs for the winner of each category. Home owners are again asked to light up their houses at this time for all to enjoy.
The judging area for this year’s Twinkle Tour will stretch from West Channel to Paradise Gardens, but is limited to the main roads only.
The following day local families will have the opportunity to skate with Santa at the Ben Sivertz Arena from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Santa will be skating and handing out goodie bags for the kids.
There is no cost associated with the event and families are encouraged to bring a Secret Santa donation to enter their name for a door prize of one trip to Edmonton or Fort Smith, sponsored by Northwestern Air.
Following the Skate with Santa will be a Disco Skate, put on by the Town of Hay River.
Residents will be able to spend an hour skating under a disco ball and enjoying music, lights and hot chocolate.
Anyone who brings a donation for Secret Santa will have their name entered for a secret door prize.

It was a battle between two Hay River teams during the Rec Hockey League’s annual tournament this year.
Eleven teams from across the Northwest Territories and Alberta met on the ice at the Ben Sivertz Arena for three days of highly competitive hockey.
Friday evening saw three games played after the teams had arrived and Saturday saw a full day chalk full of rec league hockey.

Sunday afternoon’s ‘B’ Division final came down to an intense game between Yelllowknife’s Kingland Slades and the Hay River Huskies.
Yellowknife took the title with a final score of 4-3, after an intense third period saw three goals scored from a previously tied 2-all game.
The ‘A’ Division final, between the Hay River Shockers and the Hay River Panthers, was a match up that saw tensions flaring on both ends of the ice.
The Shockers took the lead early on in the first period, with a goal by Steve McKenna assisted by Stephen Rosendahl with 12:23 left in the first period.
The Panthers quickly retaliated, with Tod Ashton scoring an unassisted goal with 10:35 remaining.
Stephan Millette reacted quickly for the Shockers bringing the score up to 2-1 only a minute and a half later, and Travis Gallant brought it back to equal ground for the Panthers with a goal with 8:18 remaining in the first period.
With only two minutes left, Millette almost managed to pass the puck by Panthers goalie Sheldon Bolt but was unsuccessful, leaving the score at 2-2 at the end of the first period.
Tensions flared at the start of the second as Scott Bolt hit the ground after a hard hit by Rodney Beck.
Bolt was back on the ice by the 15 minute mark, and returned to score a goal with 13:21 to go.
J.J. Hirst returned fire on Shockers goalie Sean Fisher with 6:33 remaining, tying up the game at 3-3.
As the third period picked up speed the momentum of the game changed.
Tony Helmer scored another goal for the Shockers only three and a half minutes into the third, regaining the lead for the younger team.
Millette scored a shorthanded goal as assisted by Joey Hiebert three minutes later, distancing the Shockers from the Panthers as the clock counted down.
Millette earned a hat trick by scoring the sixth and final goal for the Shockers, solidifying the win with only six minutes left in the game.
“It went good,” said Curtis Rowe, organizer of the tournament.
But that wasn’t to say the tournament went on without its fair share of problems.
“The ferry to Providence went out so we had one team from Yellowknife and one from Fort Providence that couldn’t make it in,” said Rowe.
“And one Yellowknife team chartered a flight to get out here and play.”
“Obviously people really wanted to play. They chartered flights out here so we must have done something right.”
This was the first major tournament of the season for the men’s recreational hockey league.

Dancers and musicians from across the West congregated in Hay River this past weekend for the Biggest Fiddling and Jigging Championship North of 60.
From Sept. 3 – 5 the Ben Sivertz Arena was filled with music and dancing as each competitor vied for the top prize.
“It has been just great,” said local fiddler Linda Duford. “Last year we only had four fiddlers, and this year we have seven.”

But in addition to a larger lineup of musicians, there was a larger turnout for Saturday’s events.
“It is a nice crowd this year,” she said. “Usually we have most people coming on Sunday.”
But the seats were packed both days as locals enjoyed the performances.  At the end of the weekend, winners were announced in the three competitive categories and each walked away with a cheque to cash.
In the youth jigging competition, Brady Desrocher placed third, Jaida Brunet in second and Davene Daigneault finished at the top.
In the adult jigging competition, Kirsten Maurice ranked third, Andrew Deedza in second place and Christopher Buggins walked away with the first place prize after dazzling the crowd with his footwork.
In the fiddling event, Linda Duford came in third place. Martin Hanelin came in second place, and Andrea Bettger walked away $2,000 richer for her first place win.
In addition to the competition, the weekend also held several dances for both youth and adults, a bingo and an adult talent show. In total, $10,000 was given away in cash prizes for the talent that came out.
Duford is hoping that there will be entries for the youth fiddling next year, and has plans to make that dream a reality.
“We would like to start up a fiddling program at the youth centre to regenerate some interest,” she said. “Hopefully we can get some youth contestants for next year.”

Hay River’s roller derby has been out in full force this summer, but as the warm season draws to a close, the women are scrambling trying to determine what is next.
There are five women who have been showing up to the practices, which have been held at least once a week.
“It is usually more like twice a week,” said Keelen Simpson, one of the organizers of the league.

The women have been meeting at the Kiwanis rink for practices, and have held a few in the Ben Sivertz Arena.
“It is warm out and the area is clean, so it worked out well,” said Simpson. “But soon it will be cold out and there will be snow on the ground and the ice will be in the arena.”
Simpson and her co-organizer Jenna Hamilton have been tossing around ideas for a winter location, but have yet to make firm plans.
“Now we are kind of thinking, what do we do, who do we contact,” said Simpson. “We are hoping to try to find somewhere to use during the wintertime.”
But a winter location is not all that the league is looking for.
“We are definitely looking for more people,” said Simpson.
She acknowledged that roller derby is a difficult sport for people to come out and be involved in, unless they are already actively skating.
“It is a really expensive commitment to make,” said Simpson. “It cost $300 or more for all the equipment. It has been an ongoing process trying to find used equipment for people to try out skating. But we are working on it.”
Anyone who is interested in joining the roller derby league is asked to message Simpson or Hamilton on Facebook, or message the Hay River Roller Derby League Facebook group.

Crowds recognize volunteers, delegates, Brendan Green

Hay River’s Ben Sivertz arena was the hub of action on Monday, as the community gathered to celebrate its squad of Olympic representatives in an Olympic Pep Rally.

Put on by the Town of Hay River and a few dedicated citizens, the pep rally was centered around celebrating Brendan Green’s name on the roster for the men’s Canadian biathlon team.
Skaters and mascots sailed across the ice waving the Canada flag as hundreds of people poured in to the arena doors, each with a small Canada flag of their own. Wally Schumann’s Smart Car sporting Brendan’s name was parked on the ice, as were the volunteers chosen to go to the Olympics to represent the NWT.
With community members from the reserve, Enterprise, and Hay River travelling to the Olympics this month, there will be representatives from all facets of the community.
“It’s an honour to have our people going to the Olympics,” said chief Roy Fabian. “Congratulations to Brendan Green. Get lots of medals, and put Hay River on the map.”
Mayor Kelly Schofield took the opportunity to point out Green’s example to others in the community.
“He has achieved quite a feat,” said Schofield. “He is a shining example. He stayed tobacco free, alcohol free, and drug free. That’s how he got to be number one. Stay the course!”
Although MLAs Jane Groenewegen and Paul Delorey were in session at the time of the pep rally, they sent their congratulations via video message for the whole community to see.
“The North is a spectacular place to live, and you, Brendan Green, are more than spectacular,” said Delorey in his message.
Green’s hard work and achievements were summed up in a short video clip. The beginning showed him as a young boy jumping hurdles in his back yard, skating, and golfing. Present-time clips showed Green on grueling climbs during training, summating a mountain in Italy, and overcoming competition in World Cup races.
Because of his lifetime of dedication to sports and his achievements as an athlete, the Hay River Ski Club announced their decision to name a trail after Brendan. Bob White presented Bruce and Marilyn Green with a trail sign reading Brendan Green Olympic Trail, a duplicate of which will be erected on the trail itself.
Bruce Green spoke to the community, acknowledging Brendan’s coach, Pat Bobinsky.
“You don’t get a world class athlete without a world class coach,” said Green. After thanking the community for its unending support, Green reverted back to his teacher ways to derive a lesson from his son’s example.
“The lesson here is to dare to dream,” said Green. “Dare to dream big dreams. They can take you a long way.”
Emcee Kevin Wallington closed the pep rally with a final cheer for Brendan.
“Brendan can’t be here today, but I think we can cheer loud enough that he can hear Hay River from wherever he is,” he said, sparking hundreds of people to roar for Hay River’s Olympic athlete, Brendan Green.
A video of the pep rally will be available within weeks, for those who were unable to attend.