NAIG 2014 officially kicks off with Opening Ceremonies
- Jeanelle Mandes | July 21, 2014
The North American Indigenous Games (NAIG) kicked off the first day with a huge turnout at the opening ceremonies held at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.
The event started at 1 p.m. with a pre-show with Sarain Fox and Jeff Richards as the hosts for the opening ceremonies. They kept the crowd energized with cheering practises for when the athletes walked in.
At 2 p.m., all the NAIG teams did their grand entrance walking in one by one waving to the crowd wearing their team color uniforms. Some were holding their province or state flags while others were carrying their sport equipments such as lacrosse sticks.
Shortly after, the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company performed a movement piece on the field that surely wowed the crowd.
For more photos of the 2014 NAIG Opening Ceremonies, visit our Photo Gallery.
Following the performance, everyones attention was drawn to the two jets, from the Moose Jaw training team that flew over Mosaic stadium.
The crowd cheered as the Lance runners finally made their entrance onto the field with one participant who lit the flame using a torch.
The opening ceremonies ended the event with the following Indigenous entertainers: Crystal Shawanda, Plex and Inez Jasper whom all performed each one song except for George Leach who sang a few songs with a young woman dancing in a bear regalia.
The Closing Ceremonies will be held on Saturday, July 26 with a line of great performances including A Tribe Called Red, one of many headliners.