The eighth annual edition of Festival by the Lake went great, according to festival committee member Karen Yip.
The event ran in Baker Lake from Sept. 13 to 15.
Yip said the bouncy castles are always a big hit with the younger set, and Mr. Circus, originally from Churchill, Man., also went over well with kids of all ages.
She said the magician who came to the event, Greg Wood, was also very good.
Wood is well-known across Canada and is a three-time winner of Winnipeg's Best of Variety Act and has twice won Manitoba's close-up illusionist award.
“The cover band we had, Coz 4 Alarm, really brought back some great memories for lots of people,” said Yip.
“A lot of people grew up with music from that era of the 1970s and 1980s, and, in the North, music was very important.
“The lineup of entertainers we had really offered a little something for everyone and they all seemed to go over very well with the crowd. We had a number of throat singers, some with very different styles, and they all went over quite well.
“We also had a number of our local throat singers perform and it was really interesting watching them all mentoring and learning from each-other.”
Yip said a lot of the local throat singers in Baker now are really younger.
She said they had a lot of little girls perform and they really benefited from having the older throat singers there, as well.
“As for the bouncy castles still being a huge hit with the kids, kids just love to play and they have such a big, open space to really enjoy themselves in.
“We had two new 30-foot bouncy castle obstacle courses this year and they were just wonderful. They were a run-through kind of thing and you challenge yourself or your friends running alongside of you and they were very, very popular. There was a long line waiting for them constantly.
“The crowds were pretty steady throughout, despite all the bad weather we had, so, based on the crowds who showed up and had fun, I'd say the festival was a big success again.”
