Life has been breathed into a renovated business at Seal Cove.
Yaga Café Garden Co. (formerly Prince Rupert Lawn and Garden) officially opened May 14 with a traditional Nisga’a blessing.
Yaga means bottom of a hill in the Nisga’a language, which business owner the Gitmaxmak’ay Nisga’a Society (GNS), felt was very appropriate for the Seal Cove location.
Simogit Gils’en (Ronald Nyce) explained during the blessing that a business is a living thing that needs to be nurtured as it, in turn, nurtures the community it serves.
Following the blessing, other Elders got up to call out the name of business.
“The ceremony wasn’t just a celebration of the grand opening of the café, it was also a blessing of a new name, a rebranding of the business,” said Blair Mirau, GNS CEO.
“The significance of each of the four chiefs standing up and yelling the name is essentially breathing life into the building, to announce that name to the world.”
The Gitmaxmak’ay Nisga’a Dancers also performed to the delight of the more than 200 people who showed up Saturday morning.
Mirau said they could not have been happier with the event.
“We had realistically planned for 60 to 80 people, but we bought a lot of extra for what’s known as the gin’op,” he said. “That was all the apples and oranges and waters and trail bars that are essentially gifts for people for bearing witness to the ceremony.
“We realistically thought 60 or 80 people would come, we bought for 180 just in case and we ran out… which was amazing. It far exceeded our expectations and it was just like the weather was on order for us, the sun came out just at the right moment.
“We had been excited to show off the covered outdoor seating on the patio, that’s what we built it for, Prince Rupert’s rainy climate, but we were blessed with really good weather.”
editor@interior-news.com
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