I’ve loved my job as staff writer for the Capital City Weekly over the last two and a half years. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to Yakutat, Tenakee Springs, Sitka, Hoonah, Haines, Kake, Skagway, Gustavus, Angoon, Ketchikan, and other towns around Southeast Alaska to meet fascinating people doing really cool things — and then to share those people and those things with you. There are the canoes Wayne Price and apprentices are carving in Hoonah, and there’s the one that Steve Brown and other carvers are creating in Sitka, in preparation for the Huna Tlingits’ ceremonial return to Glacier Bay this August. There’s Kevin Allred, who figured out a way to heat some of Tenakee’s homes and businesses using geothermal energy. There’s Jennie Wheeler, who weaves paincatchers, teacups, and traditional objects in Yakutat. There’s Theo “FySH” Houck in Juneau, a talented 16-year-old musician and poet whom I wrote about for this issue (see page 5.) The list of Southeast Alaska’s interesting people and wonderful events just goes on and on.
There’s so much planned for the vibrant arts and culture scene here in Juneau and around Southeast just this spring and summer: The Alaska Folk Festival, Alaska Robotics’ Mini Comic Convention, the opening of new state museum. the re-opening of Skagway’s Jeff. Smiths Parlor Museum, Klukwan’s Jilkaat Kwaan Cultural Heritage Center and Bald Eagle Observatory, Celebration, Shakespeare’s First Folio Exhibit, the restoration of Nay I’waans, or the Chief Son-i-Hat Whale House in Kasaan… the list goes on, and you’ll be seeing all of it in these pages.
Former (and beloved) editor Amy Fletcher, design wizard Randi Spray, and I have always visualized the Capital City Weekly as the publication you pick up to learn about your fascinating neighbors and all the incredible things happening around you in the world of art and culture in Southeast Alaska. Don’t hesitate to email me at maryc.martin@capweek.com with suggestions for coverage, other feedback, or just to say hi.
