The Canada Winter Games said farewell to the North on Saturday, capping one of the most successful Games ever with an entertaining closing ceremony.

The two-hour celebration was rich in northern song and dance, an appropriate finish to a Games that saw athletes and visitors treated to 16 days of local hospitality.

P.E.I. Canada Games 2009 president Joe Spriet hands off the torch to Hilary Hansen of Charlottetown during closing ceremonies of the Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse on Saturday.
(Chuck Stoody/Canadian Press)

Beginning with Whitehorse fiddlers and ending with a performance from Juno Award winner Jerry Alfred, the ceremony put the Yukon on display one last time, much to the delight of the 3,500 on hand at ATCO Place.

"We've been repeatedly told these two weeks that the Whitehorse 2007 Canada Games are the best ever," Mayor Bev Buckway told a delirious crowd. "Whitehorse gracefully accepts that compliment."

With the three mascots of the 2007 Games leading the parade of athletes, the largest cheers were reserved for the Yukon team, just as they were when the Games began Feb. 23. Yukon flagbearer Amber Saunders, a bronze medallist in judo, couldn't stop smiling as she marched into the tent.

The National Artists Program put on a dazzling and creative dance performance using cafeteria trays, while the largest cheers of the night came after a breathtaking display of throat singing, Inuit drumming and breakdancing.

"The past two weeks have been an amazing and gratifying experience," Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie said. "Hosting the first Canada Games north of the 60th parallel is testament that the North has truly come of age."