100s gather for Midway Lake Music Festival near Fort McPherson, N.W.T.

Visitors came from Aklavik, Whitehorse, Deline and even Fort Providence

CBC News · Posted: Aug 06, 2022 3:00 AM CT | Last Updated: August 6

People travelled from across the Northwest Territories and from as far away as Bonn, Germany, to take in the Midway Music Festival held outside Fort McPherson, N.W.T., last weekend. 

Visitors came from Aklavik, Whitehorse, Deline and even Fort Providence to attend the four-day, alcohol-free event.

Events included a special welcome for Elizabeth Wright, the new chief of the Teetl'it Gwich'in First Nation, and a performance by the Teetl'it Gwich'in dancers, who will be travelling to Ottawa in February to dance.

• Midway Lake Music Festival gets underway near Fort McPherson, N.W.T.

The Fort Good Hope drummers. (Dean Charlie)

Rick Charlie, Jordan Blake and Dean Charlie. (Dean Charlie)

Richard Bonnetrouge plays guitar. (Dean Charlie)

Mia and Sadie Blake share a dance, and a laugh. (Dean Charlie)

Willie Fields performs. (Dean Charlie)

Richard Gordon & Tracey Rispin take a turn on the dance floor. (Dean Charlie)

Dean Charlie, Jackson Smith and Johnny D Charlie. (Dean Charlie)

Michael Krutko and his kids travelled from Fort Providence, N.W.T., to take part in a memorial for his mother, Evelyn Krutko, held during the festival. Evelyn died in December. Michael also plays guitar for Johnny Landry, who performed at Midway Lake Music Festival. (Karli Zschogner/CBC)

Joe and Elfie Boden of Bonn, Germany, take in the events. The pair had been travelling in their RV since October 2021 from Mexico. (Karli Zschogner/CBC)