North American Indigenous Games come to subdued close after historic rainfall in Nova Scotia
Severe thunderstorm forced Friday's closing ceremony, concert to be cancelled
The North American Indigenous Games are coming to a subdued close in Nova Scotia on Saturday, after inclement weather and historic flooding forced several major events to be cancelled.
The closing ceremony and concert at the Halifax Common that was planned for Friday evening were cancelled due to a severe thunderstorm.
Organizers announced Saturday morning that the cultural village at the Common, a popular gathering place during the Games, and cultural sites on the Halifax waterfront and in Dartmouth Crossing were closed because of the rain.
The cultural village was scheduled to be open until 6 p.m. AT Saturday.
There were five competitions scheduled to take place Saturday, including basketball, box lacrosse, soccer, softball and volleyball.
On Saturday afternoon, a news release from officials said all remaining bronze medal games would be cancelled and all participating teams would be awarded a bronze medal.
But, the release said, all remaining gold games would be played on Saturday afternoon as weather conditions improve.
It said games played by male athletes would take place at the Halifax Commons, while games played by female athletes would take place at the Don Bayers Sport Field in Dartmouth.
Nova Scotia's U19 male softball team is expected to play for gold.
All softball medal ceremonies are expected to be held at the Atlantic Hotel in Halifax at 9:30 p.m.
Some airport delays
Thousands of people are expected to fly out of the province as the games come to a close this weekend.
Tiffany Chase, the director of public affairs for the Halifax Stanfield International Airport, said there have been a few flight delays and cancellations.
Chase said many of the delays are a result of disruptions to flight operations caused by thunderstorms Friday evening, which caused a ripple effect on flight operations Saturday.
"Today and Sunday is when we expect to see the bulk of those passengers departing," Chase said.
"If you have a flight scheduled for today or tomorrow, please be aware there might be more people travelling than normal and to give yourself lots of time, both to get to the airport safely and also to make your way through all the processes."
Game officials announced on Friday that the 2027 North American Indigenous Games will be held in Calgary.
