Yukoners are adventurers of all sorts. A Dawson City non-profit organization has captured 14 babies on their exciting start into this adventure called life.
Dawson City’s Healthy Families, Healthy Babies initiative has created an adorable 2017 wall calendar as a fundraiser project, called Babies of Dawson.
The goal of the initiative is to support young families in the Klondike before and after a baby is born. When asked how the program has affected her life, Anna, a mother of three, said, “This may sound strange, but being a parent can feel very lonely at times, so having an organization like (Healthy Families, Healthy Babies) can be a lifesaver.”
She explained: “I moved to Dawson about seven months ago when my little Hazel was just two months old. I had very few friends and no support outside my immediate family. They (Healthy Families, Healthy Babies) offered help and respite when I needed it.
“I have since met many lovely moms and dads through the various events and workshops who are in the same boat that I’m in and we have kind of become a great little community of support for each other.”
The cover shot for the calendar is themed “babies dressed as grannies.” Imagine the turmoil at that photo shoot! Getting a dozen babies dressed up and sitting together for a shot is a very challenging undertaking for everyone involved.
While some were sitting quietly, others were falling over, crawling out of the scene or starting to cry.
Dawson photographer Andrea Magee took the cover shot.
“I love babies, so this was a joy to do,” Magee says. “Herding cats comes to mind when I think about this photo shoot. It was so much fun.”
The calendar shows how different and exciting living in the Klondike can be in the first years of life. There are 14 photos in the calendar and the images include a lumberjack baby, a highway cruiser and a farmer baby.
“We took over 200 pictures in multiple places to get a good shot,” says program participant Janna about the shooting for Lumberjack Baby Elodie. “Her dad and aunt helped by making crazy faces behind me while I took the picture. Our biggest challenge was keeping her from eating all the plants where she was sitting!”
In addition to great pictures, the calendar provides space for daily entries and a section to write down notes.
Funds raised from the calendar will go towards programming and grocery support for pre- and post-natal families in Dawson. You can preview the calendar on the designer’s website www.WildPancake.ca and place orders by sending an email to [email protected].
