Gallant's Lounge

I returned from Nunavik a few weeks ago now, and a final blog post is in order.

Let us begin.

Part-Hunting, Crafting Cars

When it comes to cars, and anything related the process of modifying cars, Nunavik is an interesting place for that.

On a weekend afternoon, where it was literally pouring rain sideways, some of my friends contacted me.

“We going to the dump to get an engine, you coming or what?” they said.

Without question, I packed my camera and joined them….

The dump is a somewhat legendary location in Kuujjuaq, affectionately named the Canadian Tire.

The place earned this name since carcasses of cars, electronics, and home appliances are dropped off there, and have been for years. For many, this sea of waste is an opportunity to save money on parts.

In the case of my buddies going for an engine, this is different, yet not so different. During their routine check-ups of the dump, one of them spotted a carcass that still had a huge engine still in it. As a team, they took apart the engine to take it home with them.

The engine was huge, and some mechanical help was needed to tear it out of the carcass.

Now that this mammoth engine was loaded onto the truck, it was time to transport it to the workshop. Fun fact, I was driving behind them and could see the sheer weight of the load compressing the back two tires.

We arrived at the workshop, a legendary place where the guys work on their projects religiously. No internet, no connection to the outside world, just the shop and the cars.

But first, we had to get the engine in there, no easy task.

By that point, photos look a bit different since the unfathomable weather of that day fogged up my camera lens, making it essentially unusable. These last pictures were taken with my phone instead.

The engine was cleaned, picked apart, and made useful for future builds. For now, it will remain near the workshop, ready to be put into a brand new project.

Aqpik Jam, the Northern Music Festival

Most towns in Nunavik host multiple festivals every year, but none compare to Aqpik Jam in Kuujjuaq. Now, this year more than ever, people were pumped to see their favorite artists come to the big stage after the pandemic break.

People from all over Inuit Nunangat (The Inuit Homeland) came to town, booking every hotel rooms, and bumping every couches.

The festival took place at the arena, and for the first time since I’ve been in Nunavik, there was a parking problem. All the parking spots near the event were taken since the whole community conglomerated to this event. I decided to walk to the event on most days.

Upon entry, you would be hit by a constantly-moving crowd of kids and people trying to either chat with their friends, check out the products of vendors who set up shop, or get to the event itself down the hall, all within that same entrance space.

Benjamin Déziel (Magic Ben) was there, amidst the crowd, working the crowd even, with his magical talents. Had the chance to profile him for Nunatsiaq News, if you have not seen it, here is the article!

Star local artists headlined the event, but people were also excited to see their loved ones hit the stage for the first time! The variety of artists at Aqpik Jam is endless, and for many artists in Nunavik, it is the first stage they perform on.

But, there was a favorite out of all the artists, and that was Elisapie. She is beloved by Nunavik, and was one of its first artists from the region to break out into the international scene and be successful.

Her performance was enthralling, she had everyone in the arena hooked on to her lush vocals.

I had the absolute pleasure of profiling Elisapie for Nunatsiaq News as well, please go read this one!

But there is a story behind how I got an interview with Elisapie that I would like to share here.

That day, my sole objective was to reach Elisapie, no matter how. I knew how important it was to profile her, and at that time, I thought it might be the only opportunity I had to meet her.

So, at first, I asked the organizer to tell me when Elisapie would be at the Arena, which I was told something along the lines of “yeah I will give you a shout when I see her.”

That did not happen, and I knew that it wouldn’t.

But, I noticed what looked like the backstage area, since there was a lot of back and forth near a specific door adorned by loose security. Magic Ben was around, and I simply asked him if he would let me enter backstage area.

With a snarky smile, he let me in. Upon entry, I saw Elisapie. I asked her for an interview, where we exchanged a few words and scheduled a sit down interview the day after. That interview was amazing, and we discussed deep topics like identity and anxiety. Everything is there in the article I linked!

The Second Annual Pride Parade

The last event I attended whilst in Kuujjuaq was the second annual pride parade, Organized by the Health board and a few youth organizers. I also covered this event for Nunatsiaq News, link here.

Visibility for the LGBTQ+ community in Nunavik is crucial according to the organizers, and they intend on making this event a yearly thing, bigger and better each time.

Music was blaring in the streets of Kuujjuaq that day, and everyone came with a huge smile and positive energy.

Final Words

Well, here we are again. I am back down South, survived the post-Nunavik depression, and now I must return to that life I have outside of the North.

This year again, Nunavik was an experience like none I have ever had before. Met even more amazing people, heard even more stories, and had the chance to work with some truly awesome and passionate people.

My time up North is far from over though. Chances are that I will return, with even more time to share the stories of a community with such little complex representation.

The lack of detail traditional medias offer about Nunavik is where future journalism should take the lead. Be there, sit down with people, see the events unfold, and there you will be able to catch that moment in time, and describe it at its fullest.

Thank you to everyone in Kuujjuaq, it has been an absolute pleasure as always! I will miss you all very much!

Let me finish up school and I will be back 😉

For now, see you on the other side!