February 4, 2015 Community Happenings

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Category: News

Created on Wednesday, 04 February 2015 12:04

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Storytelling Class

Slated to Register Professional dancer Laura Careless will teach a workshop 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at Allen Hall on the SJ Campus. Advanced dancers will focus on creating a map of connections between the physical body and emotional intelligence, using techniques from various dance styles and from yoga.

The goal of the workshop is to give students a heightened awareness of physical sensation and a movement vocabulary for self-expression. Students should be prepared to move with bare feet or socks. The cost of the workshop is $35 plus tax. Call the Sitka Fine Arts Camp at 747-3085 for more information or to register.

YAS Board Meets

Youth Advocates of Sitka board of directors will meet 5:15-7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9, at its 805 Lincoln Street office. Meetings are open to the public.

Kreiss-Tomkins

To Meet Public

State Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins will hold public office hours 10:30 a.m.-noon Friday, Feb. 6, at the Backdoor, and 3-4:30 p.m. Feb. 6 at the Highliner.

No appointment necessary, just stop by. Those with questions or unable to make office hours, can email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call the Juneau office at 465-6848. 

Park Advisory Meets

The Sitka State Park Advisory Board will meet 7:30 a.m. Feb. 10 at Centennial Hall. The public is invited

Rock Climbing

Class Recruited

Introduction to rock climbing with Ira Slomski-Prtiz will be offered 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12, at the Hames Center.

Participants will learn tips and exercises that will improve climbing, get belay certified, and learn exercises to increase climbing endurance. For more information or to sign up call 747-5080 or check out www.hamescenter.org.

Island Institute Residents

To Present on Feb. 7

The Island Institute’s two current guests – Australians Carol Birrell and Jesse Blackadder – are planning playful as well as serious activities during their monthlong residency in Sitka.

Blackadder was an Island Institute fellow here in 2007. She is an author of award-winning adult and children’s novels with environmental themes, and an environmental journalist.

Birrell is an academic, writer and environmental artist from the University of Western Sydney. 

“During our month we will be running free activities for both adults and children, focusing on creativity through writing and art,” Birrell said. “We’re also planning a few surprises – Sitka locals should look out to see kangaroos and koalas in some interesting places!”

The two arrived in Sitka last Thursday and are running their first public event 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 7 – a creativity/writing workshop for adults called “Different Geographies” – in the Yaw Chapel on the SJ Campus.

“Everyone is welcome to join this free workshop, which will inspire participants to deepen their own writing expression using clay, paints, and storytelling,” Blackadder said. 

Birrell said that a deep sense of place is something that informs her work.

“In Australia, I have immersed myself in a land-based arts practice that produces a form of writing that I feel is more about ecological being,’’ she said. “It enables me to write from a sense of connectivity, of being a part of the natural world through relationships. I have also been fortunate to have long-term teachings from indigenous Aboriginal elders, which also strongly influences how I think and write.”

The following weekend, the two will run a program “Whale Dreams” in association with Sitka Story Lab. The day will be for ages 8-12 using drama, writing and art to share stories and dreams of whales from around the world.

The Australians say they are grateful for the chance to spend a month in Sitka, working on both their own individual projects and sharing experiences with locals.

Blackadder said they are strongly drawn to extreme and remote natural landscapes.

“My writing has taken me to Antarctica and Alaska, as well as the remote desert of the Australian Kimberley, which is the setting for one of my children’s novels,’’ she said. “Landscapes are such a strong inspiration for my novels. I’m working on a book about kids and humpback whales and being here in Sitka is giving me an Alaskan perspective on the story.”

Blackadder’s novels will be for sale during the workshops. For more information on the workshops and other activities, contact the Island Institute at www.iialaska.org or 747-3794. 

Hands-On Class

To Explore Birds

Discovery Days will explore birds 10 a.m.-noon Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Sitka Sound Science Center.

‘‘We’ll soar through the amazing adaptations of birds from feathers to talons,’’ SSSC said.

Staff will be joined by guests from the Alaska Raptor Center for hands-on activities.

Discovery Days are SSSC current member events. Memberships can be purchased at the door – family memberships start at $90 or individual memberships start at $30 for the year. For more information contact Ashley at 747.8878 ext. 3 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Sacred Harp

Sing Feb. 8

The second Sunday Sitka Sacred Harp Sing is set 3:30-5 p.m. Feb. 8 at the Pioneers Home Chapel. Beginners and listeners are welcome. Call 738-2089 for more information.

BHV Board Meets

Brave Heart Volunteers will hold its annual open board meeting 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19, at the Pioneers Home Manager’s House. 

The meeting is open to the public, and all are invited to attend. For more information call Zack Desmond at 747-4600.

Jazz After Hours

Tickets on Sale

Jazz After Hours is planned following the Sitka Jazz Festival evening concert Feb. 7, at VanWinkle and Sons Restaurant.

‘‘This is your chance to experience great jazz in a relaxed intimate venue with your favorite beverage and light appetizers,’’ Sitka Jazz Festival said.

The public is invited to join local and visiting jazz musicians for a finish to the festival. Reserved seating tickets are available for a $45 donation to the jazz festival; $10 tickets that day allow individuals to enjoy the music and no-host bar, and also contribute to the festival.

Tickets are available at Old Harbor Books, the PAC during the concerts, and at the door. For more information call 738-6620.

Feb. 16 Festivities to Mark

Elizabeth Peratrovich Day

 Sitkans are invited to celebrate and participate in a full day of Elizabeth Peratrovich Day activities on Feb. 16, sponsored by Alaska Native Brotherhood, Camp 1, and Alaska Native Sisterhood, Camp 4.

The mission of the two organizations is to ‘‘better the lives of Native people and their families; to fight for civil rights and land rights for all Native people; to share the cultural knowledge, wisdom, and artistic beauty of Native tribal societies; and to strive for a spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood among all people.’’

When Elizabeth Peratrovich and her husband Roy first moved to Juneau in 1941, they found themselves unable to buy or rent in the neighborhood of their choice, and signs in front of businesses advertised “We Cater to White Trade Only,” “No Natives Allowed” and “No Dogs or Indians Allowed.”

In one of her many famous remarks Peratrovich said, ‘‘We, as Indians, consider this an outrage because we are the real Natives of Alaska by reason of our ancestors who have guarded these shores and woods for years past. We will still be here to guard our beloved country while hordes of uninterested whites will be fleeing South.’’

An important Alaska Native civil rights leader, she fought for her own and all peoples, and preceded Martin Luther King by 20 years. Her efforts resulted in equal civil rights for all, through the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Act of 1945, making racial discrimination illegal Alaska, local organizers said. 

This year, an essay writing event is being offered for students in kindergarten through 12th grades, answering the question in 100 words or less, ‘‘Why is Elizabeth Peratrovich important to me?’’ Commendations and readings will be presented after the parade, at the ANB Founders Hall. All entries should include a name and phone number, and be dropped off at the Daily Sitka Sentinel office at 112 Barracks Street before closing on Friday, Feb. 13.

On Feb. 15, the ANB Founders Hall will be open 1-5 p.m. for set-up and food preparation, and to receive any donations for the Sisterhood stew – corned beef, potatoes, stewed tomatoes, vegetables and pilot bread. Donations of salads and desserts may also be dropped off, or the following morning. Volunteers are welcome to help with the cooking and set-up, and can go to the hall during that time to be put to work.

The ANB Founders Hall will be open to the public, the descendants of the Wanamaker-Peratrovich family,  and all ANB and ANS members, past, present and future, at 10:30 a.m. on Elizabeth Peratrovich Day, Feb. 16, for coffee and tea, visiting and seating.

A free luncheon at 11:30 a.m. will honor her achievements, her descendants, and life members of the ANB and ANS. A time of sharing history, memories, and testimonies related to the work of the ANB and ANS, and the unveiling of historic ANB/ANS photos are planned.

The Swan Lake Senior Center van will pick up elders from the ANB Founders Hall at 2:30 p.m. to take them to the parade line-up, and to ride in the parade. Registration for the van will be available at the luncheon, and candy will be provided to the elders to throw in the parade.

All groups and individuals are invited to march in the Elizabeth Peratrovich Day Parade. The line-up begins at 2:30 p.m. at Crescent Harbor shelter with the parade starting at 3 p.m., down Lincoln and Katlian streets to the ANB Founders Hall. The Mt. Edgecumbe High School dance groups, Sitka Native Education Program students, veterans, and  ANB and ANS, are among the parade participants.

If possible, business owners on Lincoln are requested to pause and stand in their doorways as the parade goes by, ANB and ANS said. 

ANB President Wilbur Brown and ANS President Paulette Moreno will preside over the festivities planned at the ANB Founders Hall after the parade, including an Alaska Territorial legislative reenactment skit by MEHS students; Gajáa Heen and MEHS dancers, guest speaker Dionne Brady Howard; essay presentations; and free refreshments of hot cocoa, coffee, desserts, and popcorn. Festivities will conclude with the documentary film about her life, ‘‘For the Rights of All: Ending Jim Crow in Alaska.’’

The ANB and ANS Elizabeth Peratrovich Day committee chairs ask of those who would like to march on that day, or are interested in becoming a member of either organization, or with any further questions about the celebration, to call Karen at 747-7803.

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