Mahsi cho, Mr. Speaker. This past January 6-8, 2017, the Kole Crook Fiddle Association held its 14th Annual Jamboree in Fort Simpson. They've held the Jamboree in Fort Smith, Fort Providence, Hay River, and Fort Simpson over the last 14 years.
Mr. Speaker, Kole Crook was a Metis fiddler from Hay River who passed away at the age of 27 on December 31, 2001. He was flying from Fort Good Hope to perform at the New Year's Eve dance in Tulita when the plane he was on crashed. For the people who had the opportunity to know Kole Crook, they would describe him as an individual who would go into the community, introduce himself, and ask if there was anything he could help them with. He was a very spiritual person who had a lot of respect for tradition and elders.
In February 2002, Lewis Beck and Stella Pellissey decided to start teaching interested students in Wrigley how to fiddle so Kole Crook's fiddle legacy could live on. In March, they were able to bring an instructor, Andrea Hanson, to help, and that winter they played at the Beavertail Jamboree in Fort Simpson. This led to a request for assistance to help set up a club in Fort Simpson. From there, a series of workshops were held in the villages of Fort Providence, Kakisa, Hay River, and Wrigley during the summer of 2002. The Kole Crook Fiddle Association was incorporated as a society in January 2003, with five board members. The first act was holding a camp in March 2003. Volunteers with little or no fiddle experience kept the resulting fledgling fiddle chapters alive.
Mr. Speaker, we fast-forward to this past January, where there were 75 students attending the workshop, with only seven first-timers. Ms. Gerda Hazenberg, who is the president and has been involved with the association for at least 14 years, said this year's event was unusual due to the large amount of intermediate and advanced fiddlers who attended the jamboree. According to the Deh Cho Drum, instructor Calvin Cairns stated that the success of fiddlers in the North and their willingness to keep fiddling is one of the things he loves about the Kole Crook Fiddle Association.
At this time, I'd like to seek unanimous consent to finish my statement.
---Unanimous consent granted