Northern Lights Pale Next to Arctic Town's Parade of Visiting Stars (Washington Post)

From the Washington Post:

By Doug Struck
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 7, 2006; Page A18

IQALUIT, Canada -- Forget Hollywood. To see the stars, come to the capital of Nunavut.

This Arctic town of 6,500 hosts a parade of celebrities, even if many of them make the briefest of stopovers.

The list of star visits is lengthy: Jamie Foxx, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ricky Martin, Jason Priestley, Canadian comic Rick Mercer, Donald Sutherland, Kevin Spacey, Sylvester Stallone.

On far northern Baffin Island, Iqaluit and its very long runway -- built for military use -- are just about halfway between Los Angeles and Europe. It is a perfect place for a fuel stop for the private jets of celebrities.

"We're a gas station," said Eric Leuthold, 34, who runs Frobisher Bay Touchdown Services, which caters to the private jets. "Some of the stars don't even know where they are. They wake up groggy and ask where they are, and never come out of the jets."

Others are more curious, drawn perhaps by the striking Inuit art in the airport terminal or the Inuktitut language they hear at the airport. They stay longer to explore the snow-covered streets, buzzing with skimobiles.

And some come seeking an Arctic adventure.

Brooke Shields always wanted to spend a night in an igloo. It had to be made for her; the local residents live in modern housing.

See: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/06/AR2006110601025.html