Here Comes 2025

Picture Source: iStock. ThinkNeo.

I spent Christmas down south with family and friends.  The weather was warmer, and the noise was louder.  (Vehicles, planes, helicopters, sirens, etc).  A downside to living in a city, I guess.  I used the time to complete medical appointments, and buy supplies for school, cadets, & myself.  I shipped the items Canadian North Cargo.  My brief vacation came & went, and I returned to Arctic Bay on December 31.  I was glad to be back before the end of 2024 because I could observe & document the community’s New Years Eve & Day celebrations for the third time.

I previously watched and photographed the people of Arctic Bay celebrating the new year from the top of a hill behind the centre of town.  I decided to return to the same spot but armed with the school’s Canon XA20 camcorder.  I tried last year to film the vehicle parade with my compact digital camera, but the bitter cold drained the battery, forcing me to rely on pictures.  I hoped the camcorder’s battery was longer lasting.

Experience taught me to dress warmly.  I put on as many layers as I could because I would be sitting up there for quite some time.  And the weather gets pretty cold at the end of December.  I packed my camera gear and two flashlights into a large backpack and fired up my skidoo.  I let the machine warm up for several minutes and then drove towards the centre of town.  It was pitch- black outside except for streetlights and house lights.

I drove behind the Co-op store and up the slope between two tall hills but didn’t get very far.  There wasn’t enough snow on the ground, and I didn’t want the skidoo track to get ripped up by rocks.  I walked the rest of the way.  I got to the spot earlier than expected.  The time was 11:30pm.  The walk up was slow, and I stopped a few times to catch my breath, but I guess I’m more physically fit than I think.  I took a few photos of Arctic Bay while waiting for the clock to strike midnight.  The temperature was cold and there was some wind.

The clock struck midnight and new year arrived.  “Happy New Year!” I proclaimed to myself.  I then turned on the camcorder and began filming the outdoor celebrations.  People exited the community hall and their homes and watched fireworks shooting into the sky in town & out on the ice.  People got into their vehicles, drove onto the ice, and proceeded south towards Uluksan Point.  Car & truck horns honked loudly, and skidoo drivers revved their engines in celebration of the arrival of 2025.  Uluksan Point is the starting point of the annual vehicle parade.

The wind started to pick up where I was sitting, forcing me to put my hood up.  I had originally planned to set the camcorder on the ground on a small tripod and just press record, but I could no longer risk it due to the wind.  I was sitting on a narrow outcrop with short and steep cliffs on either side.  The wind could push the camcorder over the side, and I’d lose it & the video card.  I did my best to hold the camcorder & tripod steadily while wearing thin gloves.  I should have brought a mat to sit on.

The vehicle parade began at about 12:20am.  Fireworks shot into the sky from Uluksan Point as a very long snake of skidoos, atvs, cars, and & trucks emerged from the corner and began driving in an S pattern on the ice.  Skidoos led the way.  There must have been 100 vehicles and more in the column.  It was pitch black out there.  All vehicles had their high beams on.  It’s a good thing the ice is really thick on January 1, because a vehicle going through the ice at this time in the season would be disastrous.  The long column of lights slowly advanced towards Arctic Bay.  It took drivers 16 minutes to reach the shoreline.  They did a loop around and then parked in a long line in front of the breakwater pier and Northern Store.

More fireworks were launched into the night sky from the long line of vehicles.  I saw people walking between the vehicles as small bright explosions lit up the night sky above them.  I braved the bitter cold and continued filming.

The skidoos drove off the ice first and continued the vehicle parade through town.  Skidoo engines revved, and car & truck horns honked in celebration.  More fireworks were launched in the community.  The skidoos drove back onto the ice and assembled in a line far out in the bay.  Then they drove towards the gas station.  Cars, trucks, and atvs remained in town.

The time was 1:30am at this point and I made the decision to return home.  I had been up on the hill for 2 hours, my fingers were cold & numb, and the wind was picking up.  I didn’t want to get frostbite.  I packed the camcorder and everything I brought into my backpack and began the slow trek down the hill.  I found my skidoo in the darkness and got it started.  I let it warm up for a few minutes and then drove slowly towards the nearest road.  I drove a little faster once on the road and made it safely home.  I made myself a large cup of hot chocolate.

I hope 2025 will be a good year.  There are many good things to hope for.  A completely free & independent Ukraine is the main one for me.  Hopefully the people of Syria can look towards a better life now that the dictator has been kicked out.  I just hope the lunatic returning to the White House won’t screw things up badly like he did the last time he was in charge.  The situation in the Middle East is still very volatile.  Hopefully something can be worked out to bring an end to the ongoing conflict.  Only time will tell.

I’ve recorded quite a bit of footage of the New Year’s Day celebrations so it’s going to take me some time to go through it all and put together a few videos.  In the meantime, Happy New Year everyone!

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Update: Sorry for the very long wait, but the New Year’s Day videos are finally done!  You can view them on my YouTube channel.  Click below on the following links:

New Year’s Day In Arctic Bay (2025) – Part 1

New Year’s Day In Arctic Bay (2025) – Part 2 – X2 Version

New Year’s Day In Arctic Bay (2025) – Part 2 – X5 Version

New Year’s Day In Arctic Bay (2025) – Part 3

New Year’s Day In Arctic Bay (2025) – Part 4

Christmas 2024

The staff Christmas dinner was held on the evening of December 13.  The school hired the local hotel to cater the event.  Several staff members & I spent time after school turning the gym into a dining hall.  Tables & chairs were set up for guests and hotel staff, a Christmas tree was placed at the end of the gym next to the speaker system, and several decorations were put up on walls.  The tables were covered in white cloths.

All school staff and local district education authority (DEA) members were invited to the event.  They were allowed to bring guests.

Everyone began arriving at 5:30pm wearing casual clothing.  I wore my formal work attire.  The caterers also arrived and placed all the food & desserts on the line of tables set aside for them.  The event began at 6:00pm with introductory speeches from the principal and head of the DEA.  An Elder blessed the food and people proceeded to line up to be served food.  Someone plugged their iPhone into the speaker system and played Christmas-themed music.  I hung back and took photos, waiting for the line to get shorter.  There was plenty of food.  I filled my plate with roast beef, turkey, ham, stuffing, green peas, and carrots.  I’m glad I fasted the entire day.  I chose to skip dessert.

The dinner moved on to the Secret Santa game.  Participants had brought their final gifts and placed them under the Christmas tree before the start of the event.  Now the time had come to guess who their Secret Santas were.  Participants had 3 chances to guess.  If they guessed correctly, their Secret Santa would come up and present their final gift.  If they were unsuccessful, their Secret Santa would reveal their identity and still present their final gift.  It’s a win-win.

The second game played was like musical chairs.  Small candy canes were placed on the tables that were used to serve food, and participants walked around the tables while Christmas music played.  When the music was cut, they had to quickly grab a candy cane.  The last person who didn’t was eliminated.  The last person standing out of the entire group won a prize.

Several staff members & I cleaned the gym and put everything away at the end of the dinner.  The event lasted 2 hours and everyone went home happy.

Students & teachers of Inuujaq School began preparing for the annual Christmas Concert in late November.  They made decorations, selected their performance skits, and practiced them in their classrooms.  The Events Committee prepared the concert programs, recruited two high school students to be the emcees, and reserved the local community hall for three days in mid-December to get everything ready.  My drummers assisted me in transporting the instruments & equipment to the community hall from the school.  I was glad one of Frank’s trucks was available.

The dress rehearsal took place on the afternoon of December 16.  The entire student body made their way to the hall after lunch.  We went through the entire program.  Each class went on stage and practiced their performance to the delight of everyone.  The emcees also practiced introducing and congratulating each class.  My drummers & I performed our three group pieces, leaving the solos for the actual concert.  Everyone was dismissed from the hall at the end of rehearsal.

The Christmas Concert occurred in the evening the follow day.  Students & teachers spent the regular school day practicing their performance routines one last time.  High School students finished decorating the community hall.  Doors opened at 6:30pm and people immediately entered the building dressed in their best clothing.  There was plenty of excitement in the air.  The hall was packed with people when the concert began at 7:00pm.

The 2 high school emcees welcomed everyone and introduced the first performance.  Preschool opened the concert with the song We Wish You A Merry Christmas.  They sang it in Inuktitut & English.  Kindergarten was next with a skit involving Christmas games.  Grade 1 sang a bilingual version of Silent Night.  Grade 2 did a Jingle Bells Dance followed by another dance performance by Grade 3.  Grade 4 continued the dancing theme with their own performance.  Grade 5 sang We Are The World.  Grade 6 did a dance where one student was dressed as Santa Claus.  Grades 7 & 8 also did dance performances. 

I summoned high school drummers into the lobby of the community hall during the Grade 7 performance to set up our drums.  We had to be ready to move everything as soon as Grade 8 finished their set.  You don’t want to keep the audience waiting. 

A few people volunteered to help us move our instruments & equipment onto the stage.  A lot of kids crowded in front of the stage, eager to see our performance.  We quickly set everything up behind the closed curtain.  I gave one last encouraging speech to my drummers and told them not to worry.  Everything will be fine.  We will survive.  I signalled the emcees to proceed with our introduction.  They said a few words and left the stage.  The curtains parted and we were greeted by many excited faces looking at us.  At least, I think that’s what I saw.  The stage lights shined brightly on our faces.  I raised my sticks and clicked 4 times.  The first piece began.

We played three pieces as a drum line.  Each one was about a minute long.  The audience applauded each performance.  A few drummers & I performed short solos.  And just like that, our act came to an end.  We were on stage for 6 minutes, but it felt much shorter.  My drummers & I breathed huge sighs of relief after the curtains closed.  We survived with our heads held high.

We moved our drums & equipment off the stage to make way for Inuujaq School staff to finish off the concert.  The staff did a Christmas themed skit and then wished everyone a Merry Christmas and happy new year.

My drummers & I waited for the audience to leave the community hall so it would be easier to move all our gear onto the truck I borrowed from Frank.  Two drummers came with me to the school to put everything back in the classroom.  I then returned the truck to Frank.

December 18 was the last day of school before Christmas break.  Student & teachers went down to the gym in the morning for 30 minutes of carolling in Inuktitut & English.  I projected the lyrics on the walls while a teacher led the students & teachers in singing some classic Christmas carols.

My picture with Santa.

Santa visited Inuujaq School after lunch to give gifts to students & take photos with them.  A corner in the main hallway was decorated with a Christmas tree, big chair, and colourful backdrop.  Classes were called to this area to receive their gifts and then pose for pictures with Santa.  I was one of the photographers.  Parents & Guardians also took photos.  Classes from kindergarten to Grade 9 received gifts from Santa.  High school students received Co-op gift cards from the main office.  Classes were dismissed right after their time with Santa.  Staff posed for a group photo with Santa before they too were dismissed for Christmas break.  We wished each other a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

Hard to believe 2024 is already coming to a close.  But that’s the way it is.   

See you all in 2025!

Parents Night Parade (December 2024)

3045 Army Cadet Corps held its second Parents Night Parade of the 2024-2025 training year on December 11.  I began preparations the week before, purchasing snacks for reception, assembling the badges & awards, and printing programs. 

The cadets & I arrived at the school’s gym an hour early to set everything up.  The target papers I graded from the Stage 1 Marksmanship competition were displayed on a wall for parents, guardians, and visiting guests.  The reception table was at a far end corner of the gym, filled with snacks & beverages.  A row of chairs was placed along the gym’s backwall for cadets who needed to sit & rest during the awards section of the parade.  Once everything was ready, the cadets changed into their green dress uniforms.

The cadets formed up for roll call as people began coming inside and finding their seats.  The cadets were then dismissed to drink water & use the washroom for the last time before the start of the parade.  The Guest Reviewing Officers (GROs) arrived several minutes later.  I had originally recruited one GRO, a teacher at Inuujaq School, but as luck would have it, the Honourable MLA David Akeeagok was in town, and I convinced him to be the second GRO.  Akeeagok represents the Quttiktuq constituency that includes Arctic Bay, and I’ve met him a few times.

The parade began with the cadet flag party marching out and placing the Canadian & Cadet Program flags at the front of the parade square on both sides of the awards table.  Then they marched out of the gym and joined the cadet platoon waiting in the gym equipment room.  The cadet Chief Warrant Officer (CWO) marched out the platoon to the centre of the gym.  I then marched in with the GROs following behind me.  The GROs stood at the front and received the General Salute.  I stood to the right of them.  The CWO then escorted the GROs through the cadet ranks for inspection.  I did a brief welcome speech to the audience during inspection.  The cadets then did a March Past for everyone.

I invited the GROs to address the cadets & audience.  The teacher went first followed by David Akeeagok.  They spoke words of encouragement to the cadets and thanked the audience for supporting the army cadet corps.

Level 4 Marksman.

The parade continued with the awards section.  The GROs assisted me in handing out the badges & awards.  I started with marksmanship badges.  There are four marksmanship levels: Level 1 is the lowest & Level 4 is the highest.  Cadets achieve these levels by shooting grouping targets with varying levels of accuracy.  Level 4 cadets are known as Distinguished Marksmen.  One cadet was awarded Level 1, two cadets were awarded Level 2, two cadets were awarded Level 3, and one cadet was awarded Level 4.

I then briefly talked about the Stage 1 Marksmanship competition to the audience and then called out the five cadets who made the team and the two cadets chosen as backups.  They had their picture taken with the GROs & me. 

One of the Fall Biathlon winners.

I continued with announcing the winners of the Fall Biathlon competition in October.  The cadets already knew the winners, but this was the first time they were publicly recognized for their achievement.  Their prizes were military themed t-shirts.

The last part of the awards sections were promotions.  Two cadets were promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal, one cadet was promoted to Corporal, and one cadet was promoted to Master Corporal.

I did the Closing Remarks, thanking the GROs for volunteering their time to inspect the cadets & give out awards, the audience for attending & supporting the cadet corps, and the cadets for putting on a great show. 

The CWO led the cadets in the Advance In Review Order and General Salute.  I then marched out of the gym with the GROs following behind me.  The cadets were then dismissed, and the parade came to an end.

The cadets & I took a group photo in front of the Royal Regiment of Canada flag before I let them proceed to the reception table.  Reception lasted about 25 minutes.  The cadets assisted me in cleaning the gym and putting everything away.  I thanked the cadets one last time for a good job.  The CWO dismissed them for the remainder of the night.

Stage 1 Marksmanship (2024)

The time had come to hold marksmanship team tryouts for the army cadets of 3045.  Five spots were up for grabs.  Larger corps are allowed to have multiple teams.  Participation was voluntary.  Tryouts are usually held in the new year, but the schedule was moved up.  Eleven cadets decided to compete.  The Stage 1 competition occurred on November 30.

We arrived at the school gym in the early morning to set up the air rifle range.  Tables, chairs, shooting mats, backboards, flags, air rifles, spotting scopes, shooting jackets, safety glasses, pellets, paper bowls, and paper targets were all brought out and placed in designated spots.  The participating cadets would shoot a few practice relays to zero in their rifles.  I set aside an “official” batch of paper targets that I would mark and use to choose the cadets for the team.

I held three practice relays for the cadets after a quick briefing.  The cadets practiced shooting prone & standing.  The cadets had a short break and then the real competition began.

There was no set order for the cadets to shoot.  I asked for volunteers.  Each cadet shot three relays: two prone & one standing.  The competition target papers were worth 100 points each, so a perfect score was 300.  Cadets were given 45 minutes to shoot their target papers, spread across several relays.  The prone relays were the longest because cadets shot both prone papers at the same time needing 30 minutes. 

The shooting competition continued after lunch and was completed at 2:00pm.  I collected the paper targets and placed them inside a large envelope.  I told the participating cadets that I would grade them later and announce the team at the next regular training night.  We spent the next 20 minutes putting everything away and cleaning the gym.

I let the cadets play sports in the gym until 3:00pm.  They were then dismissed for the remainder of the day.

 

Still In The Fight & Are You Serious?

A lot has happened since August when I wrote about Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Kursk.  I thought the operation would be over by now, but surprisingly, it’s not. 

Media outlets, the non-pro-orc ones, estimate there are between 15,000 – 30,000 Ukrainian soldiers operating in the Kursk region.  These brave & noble freedom fighters shocked the world & the orcs by crossing the Russian border, seizing up to 1000 square kilometres of land & 74 settlements in the hopes of using them as bargaining chips in future peace negotiations.  On a map, these amounts appear small, but the fact Ukraine’s Armed Forces have been able to do this has dealt a massive embarrassment & setback for the evil orc war machine.  Something like this hasn’t happened in Russia since the Second World War.

In September, Ukraine’s president Zelensky claimed 60,000 Russian troops were forced to redeploy to Kursk, being pulled from Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts.  Not bad for an invading force half that size.  To cause that many enemy soldiers to move away from other combat areas must show panic and disorganization.  Usually, you have reserve units behind the front lines to plug in the gaps whenever lines are broken.  Some military analysts say Russia can afford these redeployments because they have more people to spare and that may be true, but having the orcs focus on reclaiming their own land takes time & resources away from military operations inside Ukraine. 

There’s been a lot of back & forth fighting, with many orc counteroffensives.  Some were repelled while others succeeded.  By October, Russia claimed to have retaken around 46% of occupied land in Kursk.  An unfortunate turn of events for Ukraine, but their soldiers can afford to give up land because it’s not theirs.  I just hope Ukraine’s valiant soldiers can hold onto what’s left for a little while longer, so the Russians waste more manpower, weapons, and resources.

By November, media outlets reported the orcs preparing another counteroffensive involving 50,000 Russian soldiers and 10,000 North Korean soldiers.  I bet the North Koreans are being used as cannon fodder & human shields, sent to their deaths in endless meat grinder assaults.  However, the surviving North Koreans, if any, are gaining valuable modern battlefield experience and are passing this information to their military leaders.  This is on top of the additional training North Korean soldiers are receiving from Russian military advisers.  The last thing the world needs is a more formidable North Korean military. 

Media outlets & military analysts have been criticizing the ongoing Kursk operation, saying it’s further stretching Ukrainian forces and taking the best combat capable units away from other combat areas that need them.  I suppose that’s true, but Ukraine needs to give the orcs a taste of their own medicine by bringing the war to their homes and show NATO & the free world that Ukraine is still in the fight.  If the free world really wants to see the Ukraine-Russia war end, how about sending in troops into Ukraine and help push the orcs all the way back to pre-2014 borders.  And that includes a free Crimea.  The orcs already have the largest country in the world; they don’t need more land.  If any sane Russians want to help end the war, put many bullets into the heads of the orc emperor & his lackeys in the Kremlin. 

Slava Ukraini!         

On November 5, 2024, the United States held its presidential election, pitting Republican Donald Trump against Democrat Kamala Harris.  Harris took over for President Joe Biden, after he decided to drop out of the race on July 21.  His age, health, and performance at debates were listed as reasons.  Around 152.3 million voters cast their ballots, and I have one question to 77.3 million of them:

Are. You. [Bleep]ing. Serious!? 

You really want to bring that criminal nutjob back into the White House?  The years of 2016 – 2020 weren’t enough for you?  You think he’s fit to return after all the crazy he’s said & done?  Sure, President Biden had his quirks, but they weren’t bad, and he’s a regular Joe.  This shouldn’t have pulled you away from voting for Kamala. 

If you haven’t figured it out, I’m of course disappointed that Donald Trump was re-elected as president.  He’s a pootin puppet.  He says he can end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, but I doubt that’s possible.  I already doubt he can make & deliver a pizza in 30 minutes or less.  Once he takes over the White House, he’ll sell out Ukraine and give the orcs what they want.  That’s not peace.  That’s terror and letting evil win.  Hitler must be rolling in his grave wishing Trump was president when he was around. 

I’m worried Trump will stop military aid flowing into Ukraine even though Congress approved a new military aid package a while back.  Ukraine will have to do as much damage as possible to Russia before Trump takes over in January 2025.  I hope the remaining members of NATO will step in and keep the military hardware & ammunition flowing.     

The only good thing about Trump being re-elected is that after his second term, he will not be allowed to run again.  Unless he somehow changes the US Constitution to let him run for a third term.  I really hope that doesn’t happen.  It’ll be better if he’s forced to resign like Nixon did.