Every year for the past 12 years, the Town of Inuvik has hosted the Inuvik Petroleum Show... a must-attend event for oil and gas companies interested in doing business in the Arctic. This year the conference took place June 18-20. Attendance was up slightly from last year, with 500 participants and delegates flying up to our little town. The two-day conference was open to the public in the afternoons, and it seems everyone in town came through to check out the booths, get some fun swag, and participate in the excitement.
In addition to the activities on the tradeshow floor, there was a full program of speakers, including Amanda Lang (of CBC's Lang and O'Leary Exchange), Ezra Levant (Conservative commentator who gave a brilliant and hilarious presentation on oil in Canada), and Vivian Krause (who became famous... or infamous... thanks to her review of the funding of environmental campaigns and whose blog prompted a Senate Inquiry into the involvement of foreign foundations in Canada's domestic affairs).
There were also a number of fun activities during the week, including a welcome barbeque, a golf and grill event, a pancake breakfast where white cowboy hats were distributed, and several comedians, including Steve Patterson of CBC's The Debaters. Jordin Tootoo from Nunavut, now with the Detroit Red Wings (up until a few days ago with the Nashville Predators), came for a visit as well. He is a big celebrity in the North, as he is the first Inuk player to play in the NHL.
Below are some photos of the conference.