Daily Sitka Sentinel

December 3, 2015 Community Happenings

STA, SPD Plan

Town Hall Meet

Sitka Tribe of Alaska and Sitka Police Department will host a town hall meeting 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at the Sheet’ka Kwáan Naa Kahídi. 

The public is invited to the open discussion meeting. For further information, contact Sitka Tribe of Alaska at 747-3207.

Sitkans Invited to

‘Follow the Trail’

Sitka Lutheran Church is hosting a  ‘‘Messy Church’’ nativity sheep trail activity in cooperation with nine Lincoln Street stores.

Participants are to ‘‘find the sheep who are on their way to visit the Christ child in his manger,’’ the church said. 

Between now and Dec. 16 participants are to find the special sheep in each store, write his or her name on the form and take the form to Sitka Lutheran for a prize drawing Dec. 16.

Forms may be found at the church during office hours, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, or at participating stores, which are Sitka Bazaar, Seasons, Tongass Threads, Bayview Outlet Store, Island Artists Gallery, Wintersong Soap Company, Old Harbor Books, Knit Shop and For Me and My House.

For more information call Sitka Lutheran Church, 747-3338.

Breakfast with Santa

Set for Saturday

All are invited to the annual Breakfast with Santa event 9 a.m.-noon Dec. 5 at Sweetland Hall on the SJ Campus.

Pancakes, eggs, sausage, fruit and beverages will be served. Photos with Santa and Mrs. Claus are planned. Baked goods and silent auction items will be offered. Items have been donated from local Sitka businesses, crafters and artists, as well as special theme baskets put together by preschool families.

Call 747-6898 with any questions.

YAS to Meet

Youth Advocates of Sitka’s board of directors will meet 5:15-7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 14, at YAS’s 805 Lincoln Street office.

Meetings are open to the public. The board is accepting letters of interest for a new member. Those who would like to join a team of professionals working together to support the mental health of Alaska’s youths and their families can contact Annette at 747-2910.

Saturday Sewing

Pinned by Quilters

Ocean Wave Quilt Guild will sponsor open sewing 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, at Church of Christ on Kashevaroff Street.

The event is open to members and non-members for fellowship and a potluck lunch. Call Sarah with questions at 747-6743.

Taize Services

Set at St. Peter’s

Taize services will be held at St. Peter’s by-the-Sea Episcopal Church throughout Advent and the epiphany season 5:30 p.m. Wednesdays. 

All are welcome to this quiet reflective service of light, prayer and song. The church is at 611 Lincoln Street.

SJ Museum to Use Grant

To Put Mask Exhibit on Tour

The Sheldon Jackson Museum has received The Harper Arts Touring Fund Grant from the Rasmuson Foundation administered by the Alaska State Council on the Arts, the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum announces.

 The grant award, along with a gift from Mt. Edgecumbe High School and SEARHC, will make it possible for the museum to travel and exhibit a collection of masks titled “Aggravated Organizms.”

“Aggravated Organizms” is a group of 10 3-feet-by-5-feet masks carved by Drew Michael and painted by Elizabeth Ellis. Inspired by magnified cells, the masks represent the top 10 diseases affecting Alaska communities. While merging science and art they encourage thought and discourse about environmental influences, diet, cultural pressures, lifestyle choices, and many other factors that influence health and promote dialogue around creative effective ways to address health needs and challenges. 

The opening reception for “Aggravated Organizms” for the general public will be at the museum the night of the Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum Annual Meeting on Saturday, Feb. 6. At the meeting, Michael will give a presentation and talk about his work and the exhibition. Light fare will be served and a silent auction to raise funds for the Friends is planned.

This past summer, Michael was an artist-in-residence in the Sheldon Jackson Museum’s Alaska Native Artist Residency Program, underwritten by the National Endowment for the Arts. Of Inupiaq, Yup’ik and Polish heritage, Michael was born in Bethel in 1984, and raised by a non-Native family and moved to Eagle River.

In 1997, Michael created his first mask in an art class with renowned Inupiaq carver Joe Senungetuk. He continued to carve part-time, while at the same time working in the oil fields of Alaska. He also apprenticed with famed multi-media Alaskan mask carver Kathleen Carlo. Michael is now a full-time artist and his works have been collected by the Alaska State Museum, Anchorage Museum and Sheldon Jackson Museum and numerous private collectors.

His “Aggravated Organizms” collection of masks has traveled all over the state including Anchorage, Bethel and Fairbanks and was also shown in Seattle. 

For more information, call 747-8981. 

90-Minute Spin

Set With Linda

The Hames Center will hold a 90-minute spin ride with Linda 8 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 6.

Space is limited. Space can be reserved at hamescenter.org or 747-5080.

SCDC to Meet

Sitka Community Development Corporation will meet 7-8 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 17, at the Sealing Cove Business Center at 601 Alice Loop Road.

The annual meeting will be 3-6 p.m. Jan. 24.

SCDC is a community-supported nonprofit working to establish permanently affordable housing in Sitka. The public is being encouraged to attend. For more information call 747-2860.