Inaugural Bannock Fest sees higher-than-expected demand

Bannock Fest took over Telus World of Science in Edmonton on Thursday.

Telus World of Science Edmonton (TWOSE) hosted its first-ever Bannock Fest Thursday evening.

The event consisted of a bannock competition between five contestants for the titles of judge’s choice, people’s choice, and kid’s choice.

MasterChef Canada contestant Veronica McRae emceed, while The Amazing Race Canada winners Taylor McPherson and Katie Mulkay were among the celebrity judges.

Ginger Auger, CEO and founder of Bannock House, an Indigenous catering company in Fort McMurray, won the top prize of $500, although the event showcased excellent bannock of all kinds, its organizer said.

“Bannock made with hot dogs inside. There’s cinnamon bannock, raisin bannock, fried bannock. There’s baked bannock,” Kimberly Tologanak, lead Arctic presenter at TWOSE, told CTV News Edmonton.

“Bannock is a big part of our identity of Indigenous culture, Métis, Cree, Dene, Inuit. I’m Inuk. A lot of our ancestors back then used the main dry ingredients to make bannock… and we found that it was an easy way to make homemade bread.”

Consisting also of a market of Indigenous-made crafts, Arctic games like the knuckle hop and muskox fight, and Medicine Wheel teachings, Bannock Fest was not only a celebration of Indigenous culture, but also a fundraiser for the Indigenous Access Fund, which subsidizes admission and programming for Indigenous children.

“We didn’t think this many people were going to come. We had to actually cap how many tickets we (sold),” Tologanak said.

“We’ll know for next year. It’ll be huge.”

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Brandon Lynch