Events

A photo by Ben Huff being exhibited as part of his presentation at 6:30 p.m. at the Alaska State Museum. (Photo courtesy of the Alaska State Museum)

Here’s what’s happening for First Friday in March

Both the state and city museums are celebrating 20 years of artistic achievements, the state’s former budget director makes his debut showing of woodworkings, and… Continue reading

 

Joslyn Unger’s winning submission to the 2023 Alaska Fish Heritage Award, part of the Wildlife Forever Fish Art Contest. (Courtesy U.S. Forest Service)

Neighbors briefs

Alaska Fish Heritage Contest seeking entries from young artists Alaska Fish Heritage Contest is in full swing with a challenge to Alaska students in grades… Continue reading

 

Participants perform in the 2023 Juneau’s Got Talent competition. (Juneau Dance Theater photo)

Neighbors briefs

11 acts scheduled to perform Saturday in 7th annual Juneau’s Got Talent Eleven acts will show off their talent and compete for cash prizes at… Continue reading

 

A landscape interpretation by Hollis Kitchin, whose work will be featured Friday at the Barnaby Brewing Company. (Photo courtesy of the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council)

Here’s what’s happening for First Friday in February

A multitude of options for people looking to make or buy creative items for Valentine’s Day is among the other usual assortment of art exhibitions,… Continue reading

A landscape interpretation by Hollis Kitchin, whose work will be featured Friday at the Barnaby Brewing Company. (Photo courtesy of the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council)
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File
Locals gathered for a whale of a time near “Tahku,” the whale sculpture under shimmering lights and loud booms for the annual firework display over Gastineau Channel in 2022.

How to celebrate the many sights and sounds of July 4

“Voices of Alaska” theme for downtown parade reflects range of Juneau’s traditional holiday events

Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File
Locals gathered for a whale of a time near “Tahku,” the whale sculpture under shimmering lights and loud booms for the annual firework display over Gastineau Channel in 2022.
A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, places flags in front of each headstone for "Flags-In" at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Thursday, May 25, 2023, to honor the Nation's fallen military heroes ahead of Memorial Day. (AP Photo / Andrew Harnik)

A Memorial Day explainer

Plus, what’s happening in Juneau on Monday.

  • May 26, 2023
  • By Ben Finley Associated Press
  • NewsEvents
A member of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, also known as The Old Guard, places flags in front of each headstone for "Flags-In" at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Thursday, May 25, 2023, to honor the Nation's fallen military heroes ahead of Memorial Day. (AP Photo / Andrew Harnik)
Lisa Hawkins interviews drummer Cameron Cartland for the Anchorage-based livestream concert/conversation podcast Amplify Alaska. (Courtesy Photo / Yngvil Vatn Guttu)

Upcoming concert series to ‘Amplify Alaska’ voices

Saturday night show to serve as a fundraiser for Aak’w Rock Indigenous Music Festival.

Lisa Hawkins interviews drummer Cameron Cartland for the Anchorage-based livestream concert/conversation podcast Amplify Alaska. (Courtesy Photo / Yngvil Vatn Guttu)
Annie Bartholomew’s debut album, Sisters of White Chapel, only at Kindred Post during May First Friday. Annie will be at the shop with her banjo playing songs from the release and selling early copies of the CD featuring of songs inspired by women who came to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. (Courtesy Photo / Juneau Arts and Humanities Council)
Annie Bartholomew’s debut album, Sisters of White Chapel, only at Kindred Post during May First Friday. Annie will be at the shop with her banjo playing songs from the release and selling early copies of the CD featuring of songs inspired by women who came to Alaska during the Klondike Gold Rush. (Courtesy Photo / Juneau Arts and Humanities Council)
Courtesy of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band
Julia Keefe, a Native American singer who has gained national acclaim performing with a wide range of musicians and settings during the past 15 years, is headlining this spring’s Juneau Jazz Classics festival with concerts by her Indigenous Big Band and a Native jazz quintet.

A huge Indigenous ‘family’ reunion at Jazz Classics

Musicians with tribal roots from Canada to South America converge for Indigenous Big Band concerts

Courtesy of the Julia Keefe Indigenous Big Band
Julia Keefe, a Native American singer who has gained national acclaim performing with a wide range of musicians and settings during the past 15 years, is headlining this spring’s Juneau Jazz Classics festival with concerts by her Indigenous Big Band and a Native jazz quintet.
From left to right, Megan Peirce, Ava Grimes, Kyra Wood and Johnathan Gee-Miles star in Juneau high school’s collaborative production of the classic “The Wizard of Oz” at JDHS auditorium. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
From left to right, Megan Peirce, Ava Grimes, Kyra Wood and Johnathan Gee-Miles star in Juneau high school’s collaborative production of the classic “The Wizard of Oz” at JDHS auditorium. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
This photo shows an Aleutian tern. Intentionally scheduled during the “slow season” to help boost the economy between the steelhead and sockeye runs, the Yakutat Tern Festival is a celebration of Yakutat’s natural and cultural resources, highlighted by the area’s Aleutian terns. The Yakutat Nature Society will host the 12th Annual Yakutat Tern Festival in Yakutat, from June 1 through June 4 — with a more robust schedule of events compared to recent years. (Courtesy Photo / Nate Catterson)

12th Annual Yakutat Tern Festival is not just for the birds

Southeast Alaska Birding Trail & Guide offers regenerative ways to see state, boost rural economies.

This photo shows an Aleutian tern. Intentionally scheduled during the “slow season” to help boost the economy between the steelhead and sockeye runs, the Yakutat Tern Festival is a celebration of Yakutat’s natural and cultural resources, highlighted by the area’s Aleutian terns. The Yakutat Nature Society will host the 12th Annual Yakutat Tern Festival in Yakutat, from June 1 through June 4 — with a more robust schedule of events compared to recent years. (Courtesy Photo / Nate Catterson)
The U.S. Coast Guard Band, seen here, plays as a 55-member ensemble. The band will play in Juneau Saturday as part of its Ready for the Call tour. (Courtesy Photo / U.S. Coast Guard)
The U.S. Coast Guard Band, seen here, plays as a 55-member ensemble. The band will play in Juneau Saturday as part of its Ready for the Call tour. (Courtesy Photo / U.S. Coast Guard)
The series “Credible, Idiot Strings” features cotton fabric, nylon thread and steel wire to draw attention to the high rates of suicide in Alaska Native and Indigenous communities. The series is a part of the new exhibition “Visceral: Verity” on display at the Alaska State Museum and featured during the April First Friday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
The series “Credible, Idiot Strings” features cotton fabric, nylon thread and steel wire to draw attention to the high rates of suicide in Alaska Native and Indigenous communities. The series is a part of the new exhibition “Visceral: Verity” on display at the Alaska State Museum and featured during the April First Friday. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire File)
Cover art for the 2023 University of Alaska Southeast’s Tidal Echoes literary magazine, which launches on Friday at the UAS campus from 6:30-8 p.m. (Courtesy Photo / Shaelene Grace Moler)

Tidal Echoes launches latest edition

Chloey Cavanaugh and Lin Davis featured artists.

Cover art for the 2023 University of Alaska Southeast’s Tidal Echoes literary magazine, which launches on Friday at the UAS campus from 6:30-8 p.m. (Courtesy Photo / Shaelene Grace Moler)
Jo March (Ema Zivkovic) reacts to an overture from one-time playmate Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Jack Scholz) during rehearsal for Perseverance Theatre and University of Alaska Anchorage's Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of "Little Women."

Get ready for Marches in April

It’s almost the big day for “Little Women.”

Jo March (Ema Zivkovic) reacts to an overture from one-time playmate Theodore "Laurie" Laurence (Jack Scholz) during rehearsal for Perseverance Theatre and University of Alaska Anchorage's Department of Theatre and Dance's upcoming production of "Little Women."
The sun partially sines on the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in February. The center will be closed for most of April for seasonal staff training and to prepare the center for summer visitors. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)

Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center to be closed for most of April

Closure allows prep for summer.

The sun partially sines on the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center in February. The center will be closed for most of April for seasonal staff training and to prepare the center for summer visitors. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
Áakʼw Ḵwáan spokesperson Fran Houston addresses a crowd of people during a blessing ceremony on Friday at Marine Park as part of the Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail) that will run along the downtown Juneau waterfront. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)

PHOTOS: Blessing held at grounds of Kootéeyaa Deiyí

Ceremony held at future site of Totem Pole Trail.

Áakʼw Ḵwáan spokesperson Fran Houston addresses a crowd of people during a blessing ceremony on Friday at Marine Park as part of the Kootéeyaa Deiyí (Totem Pole Trail) that will run along the downtown Juneau waterfront. (Jonson Kuhn / Juneau Empire)
Sockeye salmon return to Steep Creek to spawn during the summer months of 2022. Residents and youth in Juneau are invited to learn more about the species at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center this Saturday for the final installment of the Mendenhall Minis series of the winter. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)

Learn more about salmon at this winter’s final Mendenhall Minis event

The series returned in-person after two years of online only

Sockeye salmon return to Steep Creek to spawn during the summer months of 2022. Residents and youth in Juneau are invited to learn more about the species at the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center this Saturday for the final installment of the Mendenhall Minis series of the winter. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
The Coast Guard Band, seen here, plays as a 55-member ensemble. The band will be traveling through Juneau and Anchorage in April as part of their “Ready for the Call” tour. (Courtesy Photo / U.S. Coast Guard)

Coast Guard band comes to the Last Frontier

“Ready for the Call” tour in Juneau and Anchorage in April.

The Coast Guard Band, seen here, plays as a 55-member ensemble. The band will be traveling through Juneau and Anchorage in April as part of their “Ready for the Call” tour. (Courtesy Photo / U.S. Coast Guard)
Courtesy Photo / Nora Canfield
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kyshona Armstrong, who performs music under just her first name, poses for a photo with her guitar. Kyshona will be performing at the Crystal Saloon and 7 p.m. on Wednesday with her bandmates Nickie Conley and Shannon LaBrie.

‘Music of the people and for the people’ comes to Juneau

Kyshona’s local performance is part of small Alaska tour.

Courtesy Photo / Nora Canfield
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Kyshona Armstrong, who performs music under just her first name, poses for a photo with her guitar. Kyshona will be performing at the Crystal Saloon and 7 p.m. on Wednesday with her bandmates Nickie Conley and Shannon LaBrie.