Arctic Inspiration Prize ceremony comes North for 1st time

The 2018Arctic Inspiration Prize will be handed out in Whitehorse on Tuesday evening marking the first time in its seven-year history that the awards gala will be held in the North.

The Arctic Inspiration Prize is the largest prize in Canada dedicated to awarding projects that serve the Canadian Arctic.

Ten projects have been nominated this year, in three categories.

There are three nominees for the largest prize of $1 million:

• Northern Compassa project to help Northern youth pursue higher education and careers
• Pirurvik an early childhood education program based in Pond Inlet, Nunavut
• UqarlutaInuinnaqtun an Inuinnaqtun language revitalization project.

Five other projects are shortlisted for the Arctic Inspiration Prizecategory thatis worth up to $500,000, and two are in the running for the youth prize, which is worth up to $100,000.

The award ceremony on Tuesday will featureperformances byJuno award winnersElisapieandLeela Gilday, along with Yukon'sDiyetand special guestWesley Hardisty.

The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. PT, at the Yukon Arts Centre. You can also watch itlive on CBC Yukon's Facebook page.