Food, Nightlife and Festivals
For food , join the locals and curious sightseers in the Old Town's Wildcat Cafe or at the Prospector Bar and Grill , 3506 Wiley Rd (tel 920-7639). For a more unusual treat, head for Office , 4915 50th St (tel 873-3750), an excellent place to sample northern specialities such as Arctic char. If you hit a warm summer's day, Giorgio's , 5022 47th St (tel 873-9640), has an outside terrace. Most of the hotels have good dining rooms and much of the nightlife revolves around their lounges, notably the plush nightclub at the Explorer - though you'll meet far more interesting and dubious types at the rough and raucous Gold Range Hotel , 5010 50th St (tel 873-4441). This is one of the great northern bars , and claims to sell the second-largest amount of beer per customer of any bar in Canada. For a gentle drink, the Black Knight Pub at 4910 49th St is a popular spot. You'll also have an interesting time if you can contrive to be in town during one of Yellowknife's festivals : one of the most intriguing (check it's still running) is the Caribou Carnival in March, whose attractions include dog-sled racing, bingo on ice, igloo-building, flour packing and - best of all - "ugliest truck" competitions. Raven Mad Daze, a midsummer celebration taking place each June 21, is celebrated with lots of street events, drinking and high spirits through 24 hours of daylight. More cerebral and fascinating is Folk on the Rocks (third weekend of July), when folk singers from across Canada and the US meet Inuit and Dene folk singers, folk dancers and the famous Inuit "throat singers" in an amazing medley of world music. Yellowknife is, along with Inuvik and Fort Smith, the headquarters of most of the far north's outfitters and tour operators . Many outfits run fishing, wildlife, Arctic sightseeing, canoeing, kayaking, boating and other trips, most ranging from one- or two-day outings up to full-blown three-week mini-expeditions to unimaginably wild areas. You'll find a comprehensive listing in the brochure Northwest Territories Explorers' Guide , which should be obtainable from national tourist offices before you go. If you decide you want adventure on the spur of the moment, contact the regional visitors centre .
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