Daily Sitka Sentinel

Let the Fun Begin: Booths Up As 4th Nears

By SHANNON HAUGLAND

Sentinel Staff Writer

Baranof School playground was bustling this morning as volunteers started putting up the food and game booths for the Fourth of July holiday.

Randy Houp, right, supervises the framing of the Fourth of July booths on the Baranof Elementary School playground this morning. Houp has been helping to put up the booths every year since Eaglequest Ministries took charge of the task 10 years ago. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it, said Jessica Clark, one of the youth leaders for Eaglequest Ministries, which is in charge of the project.

The booths will be open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, the Fourth of July.

The church has been setting up and running the booths since the city put the project up for bid eight or nine years ago. In recent years, no city money has been attached, and the organization has done it as a volunteer venture.

Clark, who has been involved as a volunteer since the church took over, said members stepped up when another organization was no longer able to do it. She said she and others from the church couldn’t imagine the Fourth without the Baranof fairway.

“It was something we felt was an important part of the activities in Sitka, for kids and parents to come out and have a good time,” said Clark. “We wanted to keep it going for the community.”

Today it’s basically a break-even operation for the church, with fees from the booths covering costs, she said, but enthusiasm hasn’t waned.

“It’s a good event and we do enjoy it,” she said. “The community (of booth sponsors) is diverse; and we have great vendors.”

This year there will be 14 booths, mostly food booths run by nonprofits as fundraisers. Clark, her husband, Isaac, and other church volunteers run most of the game booths because so few other groups do. Prizes are given out for participants earning tickets in various contests. “Crazy Ball,” “Angry Birds” and “Finish Line” – a dice game – are popular each year.

Clark called the process of putting together the prizes and setting the “prices” (the number of tickets per prize) a “great mathematical mystery.” But Eaglequest tries to pick out some higher-end prizes that are different every year. Last year’s popular items that went for the most tickets included an Angry Bird stuffed animal, a talking Ironman figure and a Razor scooter.

Does she dread this time of year, for all the work that comes with it?

“No, I don’t,” she said. “It’s a really fun event – that’s why we do it. It’s amazing to see the community get together. I enjoy seeing all the families together – we do it for the community.”

The booths are the first event in the Fourth of July schedule. This year there’s no scheduling coordinator, but organizers of some major events are putting together a schedule similar to last year’s. The Sentinel will have a full schedule, as available, in Thursday’s edition.

–11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday – Food and game booths, Baranof playground

–11:30 p.m. Friday – Fireworks, sponsored by Petro Marine, fired off from the UAS ramp

Saturday, Fourth of July

–9 a.m. to noon – Free admission to Russian Bishop’s House

–10 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Food and Game booths, Baranof playground

–10 a.m. to noon – Tea and children’s games from the Russian America era, Russian Bishop’s House

–11 a.m. – Sitka Spruce Celtic Dancers, Crescent Harbor Shelter 

–noon to 12:45 p.m. – Concert of Patriotic Favorites played on the historic Kessler organ by Dave Nicholls, Sitka Lutheran Church

–noon – Barn Dance – Crescent Harbor Shelter, with music by Fishing for Cats

–1 p.m.  (Fourth of July) – Parade Line-up, Lake Street

–2 p.m. – Parade down Lake Street, and Lincoln Street to Totem Square, with the theme “American Innovation.” Prizes given out for most enthusiastic ($50), best theme float ($75) and best of parade ($100).

–After the Parade – Root beer floats at the Cable House at the end of Lincoln Street, sponsored by KCAW Raven Radio.

–After the parade till 5 p.m. – Free admission to Russian Bishop’s House

–3:30 to 6 p.m. – Underwater archaeology cruise, Sitka Maritime Heritage Society and Allen Marine, and talk by Dr. Brinnen Carter on underwater archaeology. Tickets $50, $35 for kids, at Old Harbor Books. 747-3448

–3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday – Ice cream social at Sitka National Historic Park

–4 p.m. Saturday – Water Fight: Sitka Fire Department vs. U.S. Coast Guard, in front of City Hall

–4 p.m. Saturday – Duck Race, Halibut Point Recreation Area, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Sitka.