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!
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
