Capital City Weekly

The first-timer’s guide to Folk Fest

There’s no music more real than the kind found at a real live folk festival. It’s the kind of place where genuineness is more valued… Continue reading

Pharis and Jason Romero. (Courtesy image)

Folk duo Pharis and Jason Romero put down roots as Alaska Folk Fest guest artists

Folk music is a wide umbrella covering an enormous amount of genres and subgenres, so it’s of no small surprise that the answer musicians give… Continue reading

Pharis and Jason Romero. (Courtesy image)
Fiddlehead ferns. Photo by Vivian Mork Y&

Planet Alaska: Spring is sneaking into Alaska

Spring, Taakw eetí, is sneaking into Alaska again. Fairbanks and Juneau are still covered in snow. In Sitka, there are signs of spring. As I… Continue reading

Fiddlehead ferns. Photo by Vivian Mork Y&
Long Hill, Chilkoot Trail, looking southwest. This view shows the Chilkoot Railroad & Transport Company (CR&T) aerial tramway in operation. One of the CR&T tramway towers is in the background left and a canoe and crate are being hauled over the line toward the summit of the Chilkoot Trail. Two men, possibly tramway workers, are observing the load. This photograph was taken on Long Hill between Sheep Camp and the Scales between the spring-fall of 1898-1899. Image courtesy of the National Park Service, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Candy Waugaman Collection, KLGO LH-68-8973.

Southeast in Sepia: The Chilkoot Railroad & Transport Company

The Chilkoot Railroad &Transport Company (otherwise known as the CR&T Company) was the longest, most sophisticated and best known of the three aerial tramways that… Continue reading

Long Hill, Chilkoot Trail, looking southwest. This view shows the Chilkoot Railroad & Transport Company (CR&T) aerial tramway in operation. One of the CR&T tramway towers is in the background left and a canoe and crate are being hauled over the line toward the summit of the Chilkoot Trail. Two men, possibly tramway workers, are observing the load. This photograph was taken on Long Hill between Sheep Camp and the Scales between the spring-fall of 1898-1899. Image courtesy of the National Park Service, Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park, Candy Waugaman Collection, KLGO LH-68-8973.

What’s Happening the week of April 4-10

Partners in Healing, April 5, 5:15 p.m., Gold Town Theater. This film discusses the partnership between western medicine and other healing modalities to promote a… Continue reading

George Gress speaks with a reporter at his home in Juneau on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 about his three-year tenure making guitars for clients across the country. Richard McGrail | For the Capital City Weekly

Making sustainable music

A pallet, planks from an old dock in Dillingham, and a used skateboard are all things that George Gress has repurposed into guitars. He’s passionate… Continue reading

George Gress speaks with a reporter at his home in Juneau on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 about his three-year tenure making guitars for clients across the country. Richard McGrail | For the Capital City Weekly
Camp 18 sits on a rock knob above the Gilkey Trench, as students take in the sunset on the Juneau Icefield, July 2017. Photo by Ben Huff.

In focus: The Juneau Icefield Research Program

This summer, a group of about 30 students will step into the most unique classroom they will ever have: the Juneau Icefield. Every year, students… Continue reading

Camp 18 sits on a rock knob above the Gilkey Trench, as students take in the sunset on the Juneau Icefield, July 2017. Photo by Ben Huff.
Hope Griffin in July 2016. Photo by Micah Mackenzie, courtesy of Hope Griffin.

Alaska calls Hope home

Among this year’s Alaska Folk Festival lineup of artists is Hope Griffin, a singer/songwriter based out of Asheville, North Carolina, whose music has been inspired… Continue reading

Hope Griffin in July 2016. Photo by Micah Mackenzie, courtesy of Hope Griffin.
The humble, yet hardworking and epic logging (raft) dog. Photo by Tara Neilson.

Alaska for Real: The secret life of logging dogs

If you stroll down Clay Street in Portland, Oregon’s Central Eastside District you’ll spy an odd looking, small sculpture: a steel spike with a circle… Continue reading

The humble, yet hardworking and epic logging (raft) dog. Photo by Tara Neilson.
Glassing for grouse looks weird, but this is the way it’s done&

Going for grouse

Enthusiasm can enhance skill, but it can’t replace experience. In my effort to become a better Alaskan, I took up grouse hunting last fall. This… Continue reading

Glassing for grouse looks weird, but this is the way it’s done&

What’s Happening the week of March 28-April 3

Raincounty Flyfishers meeting, Wednesday, March 28, 7 p.m., Thunder Mountain High School Library. It will soon be time to fish for Dolly Varden, and they… Continue reading

“Pair of Ravens” by Nicole Bauberger. Courtesy image.

Art exhibits, food samples and an app launch this First Friday

There’s some fascinating events happening this First Friday in downtown Juneau, from art exhibits, chances to sample products, and even an app launch. Continuing Exhibit:… Continue reading

“Pair of Ravens” by Nicole Bauberger. Courtesy image.
Young adult author Ally Carter. Courtesy image.

Young adult author launches teen thriller set in Alaska

As New York Times Bestselling author Ally Carter took a cruise through Southeast Alaska in 2014, she had the initial idea for her new young… Continue reading

Young adult author Ally Carter. Courtesy image.
Mitchell Prescott and Annie taking a break. Image courtesy of Vivian Faith Prescott.

Planet Alaska: Skunk cabbage — A harbinger of spring

My dad and I load up his truck with binoculars, a rifle, and our lunch. We are heading out the logging roads to look for… Continue reading

Mitchell Prescott and Annie taking a break. Image courtesy of Vivian Faith Prescott.
Boundary monument 112, damaged by river ice, at the Yukon River crossing east of Eagle. Photo by Ned Rozell.

The thin line between Canada and Alaska

Marked by metal cones and a clear-cut swath 20 feet wide, Alaska’s border with Canada is one of the great feats of wilderness surveying. The… Continue reading

Boundary monument 112, damaged by river ice, at the Yukon River crossing east of Eagle. Photo by Ned Rozell.

Country duo ‘Love and Theft’ performs in Juneau

Getting their start in Nashville, Tennessee, country band duo Love and Theft will be making its Juneau debut March 21 at the Juneau Arts and… Continue reading

Left to right: Walter A. Soboleff Jr., Ernestine Saankalaxt’ Hayes, Khinkaduneek Paul Marks, Lillian Petershoare, and Marcelo Quinto. Courtesy image.

Five stories from the Willoughby District

Curiosity prodded theater-makers Ping Chong, Ryan Conarro, and Frank Kaash Katasse to collect the different histories of the downtown Willoughby District, otherwise known as the… Continue reading

Left to right: Walter A. Soboleff Jr., Ernestine Saankalaxt’ Hayes, Khinkaduneek Paul Marks, Lillian Petershoare, and Marcelo Quinto. Courtesy image.
Art by Jim Fowler for “Arctic Aesop’s Fables.” Image courtesy of Susi Fowler.

Riverbend Elementary explores ‘Arctic Aesop’s Fables’ with One School One Book program

Some stories never get old. In fact, in their retelling, they can timelessly spark creativity, fun, and learning, especially when shared as a group. Riverside… Continue reading

Art by Jim Fowler for “Arctic Aesop’s Fables.” Image courtesy of Susi Fowler.
John Keabler plays the lead role of Cyrano de Bergerac in the latest Perseverance Theatre’s production on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Kathryn Tkel plays Roxane and Enrique Bravo plays Christian. Michael Penn | For the Capital City Weekly

Nose Job: “Cyrano de Bergerac” at Perseverance Theatre

They say the pen is mightier than the sword, but lately I’ve had my doubts. Seriously, the sabre-rattlers seem to be rallying a lot these… Continue reading

John Keabler plays the lead role of Cyrano de Bergerac in the latest Perseverance Theatre’s production on Thursday, March 15, 2018. Kathryn Tkel plays Roxane and Enrique Bravo plays Christian. Michael Penn | For the Capital City Weekly
Dugout canoe replica. (Photo by Nobu Koch)

Sitka tribe donates canoe replica to Sealaska Heritage Institute

Sitka’s tribal government has donated to Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) a small replica of a full-size dugout canoe carved through a project sponsored by SHI,… Continue reading

Dugout canoe replica. (Photo by Nobu Koch)