Daily Sitka Sentinel

November 30, 2018, Community Happenings

Alaska Native Artist Residency Program Applications Available

The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum is seeking Alaska Native artists to apply to the 2019 Native Artist Residency program. The program runs May through October.

Several residency positions are available. All involve working at the museum and include artist stipends of $2,200, a food per diem to offset food costs, lodging, and travel to and from Sitka. Several of the residencies involve working with youths and two of them involve working nearly half of the time at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp, and the other half of the time at the museum. All residencies are 22 days long.

Dates are: May 15 and June 5 (may involve working with youths under 18 for several days in the museum gallery); June 7 and 29 (working at the museum and working with Sitka Fine Arts Camp middle school students); June 29 and July 20 (working at the museum and with Sitka Fine Arts Camp high school students); Aug. 22 and Sept. 12; and Sept. 14 and Oct. 5.

The museum is offering a higher financial award this year, a stipend for food, travel to and from Sitka, and, as in previous years, a welcome dinner with a local welcome committee, and paid time accessing and studying the museum’s exceptional Alaska Native ethnographic and art collection.

Artists-in-residence may focus on traditional or contemporary Native art forms including but not limited to wood carving, ivory carving, silver engraving, beading, skin, gut and fish skin sewing, drum-making, and basket or textile weaving, drumming, and dancing.

Outstanding beginners as well as experienced artists are invited to apply. Artists benefit from utilizing the museum’s collections for research and meeting visitors and locals while working in the museum gallery.

To obtain an information packet call 747-8981 and request a packet be emailed or mailed. The packet is also available at www.friendsofsjm.com and http://museums.alaska.gov/artist_opportunities.html.

Those with questions about the program or application can email Jacqueline.Fernandez-Hamberg@alaska.gov or call 747-8904. Applications are due Jan. 2.

Evangelists to Visit,

Speak in Sitka

Spanish-speaking street Evangelists Emma and Antonia will be in Sitka on Sunday, Dec. 2, to share their ministry.

They will be at Sitka Christian Center at 10:30 a.m. and then speak at Calvery chapel, at the Methodist church, at 3 p.m. Those with questions can call 747-6771.

Women Invited to ROAR

Elizabeth Smart will be keynote speaker at the first Reclaim Own and Renew Women’s Conference Jan. 11-12. The conference, sponsored by SEARHC, is designed to empower women to “ROAR” fiercely into the new year with boldness, confidence, and hope, a press release said. 

ROAR is first of what SEARHC hopes will be many annual women’s conferences in the region. This year’s keynote speaker is National Child Safety Advocate, and Women’s Empowerment Speaker 

Smart first entered the public’s consciousness when she was abducted from her Salt Lake City, Utah, home in 2002 as a 14-year-old girl and then rescued nine months later. Her story is seen as one of triumph in spite of tragedy and challenges, a press release from SEARHC said.

Topics will include ‘‘Self Image and Self Worth’’; ‘‘Balancing Work and Family Life’’; ‘‘Seasons of a Woman’s Life’’; ‘‘Nutrition and Exercise’’; ‘‘Self-Care’’; ‘‘Vision for the Future’’; and ‘‘Faith – The Spiritual Woman.’’

The motivational conference for women is at the Centennial Hall Convention Center in Juneau, 6:30-8:30 p.m. Jan. 11 and 8:30-2:30 p.m. Jan. 12.

The cost is $69 per person by Dec. 31 and $79 per person beginning Jan. 1. Participants must be at least 16 years old to attend.

Registration information is available at searhc.org/ROAR. Contact Conference Chair Sherry Patterson at ROAR@searhc.org or call 907-463-4000 with questions.

History Museum

Has Limited Hours

The Sitka History Museum will be open on a limited schedule until the end of the year; primarily during large events at Centennial Hall.

For a special showing, call Executive Director Hal Spackman at 747-6588 or 738-3766.

Unitarians Gather

Rich McClear will answer questions about ‘‘The Evolution of Advent’’ Sunday at the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship. The program is at 10:45 a.m., followed by soup and bread. The fellowship hall is at 408 Marine Street. Parking is behind, on Spruce Street. 

Sitka Post Office Lays Out

Advice for Happy Holidays

 The Sitka Post Office at 1207 Sawmill Creek Road will open a dutch door on two Sundays during the holidays for customers to pick up notified mail and packages, which could not be delivered on the first attempt.

The Sitka Post Office will offer dutch door package pick up service from 10 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Dec. 16 and Dec. 23.

“It’s all about customer convenience,” said Sitka Postmaster Celia Dumag. “Opening a dutch door on Sundays will help our customers pick up packages at a time that may be more convenient for them.”

The Sitka Post Office is among 25 USPS locations across the Last Frontier State that will offer dutch door package pick up service on Sundays during the holidays. Other locations include Anchorage, Eagle River, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau, Ketchikan, Palmer, Kenai, Soldotna, Wasilla and Kodiak.

Dumag shared some shipping tips and a request to help keep carriers safe.

Skip the Trip and Ship Online

Consumers don’t even have to leave home to ship their packages. They can visit usps.com to order free Priority Mail boxes, print shipping labels, purchase postage and even request free next-day Package Pickup. And usps.com is always open.

Proper Packaging

•   Never use brown paper and string to wrap your packages as they can get caught in USPS automated processing equipment.

•   Use a strong box, Priority Mail Boxes are free and available at your Post Office

•   Use shipping and packing tape, and ensure the items in the box don’t shift when moving it back and forth.

•   Always use the right ZIP Code.

•   Go to usps.com/holiday for more shipping tips and to check ZIP Codes.

Help Keep Your Carrier Safe

•   Keep your dogs restrained

•   Clear snow and ice from around mailboxes and walkways

 “We plan months ahead for the holidays,” said Dumag. “Our customers can count on the Postal Service and our more than 640,000 dedicated employees to deliver their holiday gifts, cards and letters on-time this holiday season.”

 The Postal Service recommends the following Christmas mailing and shipping deadlines:

Holiday Military Shipping Deadlines

Nov. 6 – USPS Retail Ground to all Military Addresses

Dec. 4 – Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to Military addresses in Iraq and Afghanistan

Dec. 11 – Priority Mail and First-Class Mail to all other Military addresses

Dec. 18 – USPS Priority Mail Express to Military Addresses (except Iraq and Afghanistan)

 International Shipping Deadlines

Dec. 1 – Priority Mail International to Africa, Central and South America

Dec. 8 – Priority Mail International to all other countries

Dec. 15 – Priority Mail Express International to Africa, Central and South America

Dec. 18 to 20 – Global Express Guaranteed depending on country.

 Domestic Shipping Deadlines

Dec. 3 – Retail Ground

Dec. 20 – First-Class Mail and packages

Dec. 20 – Priority Mail

Dec. 22 – Priority Mail Express

Additional news and information, including all domestic, international and military mailing and shipping deadlines, can be found at the Postal Service Holiday Newsroom at usps.com/holidaynews

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.