More hands almost always make less work and, when it comes to recreational events, they can also bring a stronger sense of community along for the ride.

Rankin Inlet recreation co-ordintor A.J. Curley said he reached out to a pair of organizations to help out with the recent Pakallak Tyme celebrations in Rankin.

And, he added, the move certainly made things a little easier for him.

鈥淏oth Ilitaqsiniq (Literacy Council) and Pulaarvik (Kablu Friendship Centre) were a big help to me,鈥� said Curley. 鈥� Ilitaqsiniq is a very good organization. It has a lot of staff members who are willing to do everything and make it work and it's the same with Pulaarvik. They're both very similar to each other.鈥�

Curley had Pulaarvik handle the Elders' breakfast and games.

The recreation department looked after all the prizes and food, leaving Pulaarvik to focus on running the events and ensuring the Elders had more fun than they usually do when the recreation department has to handle everything.

Curley said he decided Ilitaqsiniq and Pulaarvik were the right choices to lend a hand after visiting their offices and talking to everyone. He said the two groups had more ideas than he expected when approaching them.

鈥淚 told them we'd do our best to accommodate whatever they thought of and, if they felt they could handle everything on their own, they were more than welcome.

鈥淲e just wanted everything to be as great as it possibly could be and both organizations did a fantastic job.

鈥淎ctually, I felt like they kind of knew I was coming before I even got there. They seemed to be already prepared for my visit and had all their staff members in the meeting with me.

鈥淚 told them what I could provide from my end and it turned out really well. I ended up joining the snowmobile races and couldn't really concentrate on a lot of Pakallak Tyme, so their help was greatly appreciated.鈥�

Curley said if there was one area where Pulaarvik and Ilitaqsiniq's help really made things better, it was keeping the Elders busy and having a great time.

He said Ilitaqsiniq also handled the U18 outdoor games on Williamson Lake for about two-and-a-half hours.

鈥淩eally, the organizations helped out the community more than me because they had a lot more experience directly handling such initiatives.

鈥淚 really appreciated them stepping up. Their involvement was just an idea I came up with about 10 days or so before Pakallak Tyme was set to begin and they were more than happy to help out.

鈥淭heir involvement kind of brought things back to the way Rankin used to be a few years back. There seemed to be more of a community feel to everything that was taking place this year and that was a big part of it.

鈥淭his was the first time I ever asked for help in organizing the events and it went better than I could have hoped. Bringing the community together is one thing, but having help from the community in running the event is another. I was very happy that it all worked out.鈥�