SE Music Festival
Dear Editor: We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to the many individuals, organizations and businesses in Sitka who helped us provide food for the 534 students, chaperones and music directors who gathered in Sitka for the Southeast Music Festival this past April 6-8.
The festival kicked off with a welcome dinner coordinated and prepared by staff from USCG Air Station Sitka. CSCS Mary Brooks, CS1 Karla Riveraguzman, CS2 Salle Madison, and CS3 Christine Chase donated their time and cooking expertise to prepare a fabulous spaghetti dinner complete with breadsticks, salad and dessert.
The Sitka Sounds Cafe made another appearance, selling food to hungry participants while raising money for the Sitka High Music Program. We would like to thank Andrew Hames and SeaMart for providing generous discounts on many of the food items we sold; Josie from SeaMart whose mouthwatering pancit sold out in record time; Shoshauna and Dave from SEARHC/Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital’s Island Skillet who donated 200 healthy and delicious burritos to the cause; and Hector from Pizza Express who was ready and willing to provide us a discount on more burritos should we have needed them.
We would also like to give a big thank you to Teri Loree, Susan Ross, and countless other Sitka High School staff who worked long hours behind the scenes to ensure the entire event ran smoothly.
The Southeast Music Festival’s participants seemed grateful as well as delighted to have food on site to help fuel their musical talents. Students from the Sitka High Music Program will benefit directly from the proceeds. We can’t thank everyone enough for supporting music education in Sitka and Southeast Alaska.
Sitka High School Music Program
Parent Fundraising Group
Sitka Herring Festival
Dear Editor: The 2017 Sitka Herring Festival has come to a close and we had another wonderful year of celebrating herring. I would like to thank all the people and organizations that came together to make the herring festival possible, starting with the students, faculty, and staff at Mt. Edgecumbe High School, Sitka High School, Blatchley Middle School, and Keet Gooshi Heen. I want to acknowledge the students for their earnest attention and hard work and Chohla Moll, Kent Bovee, Stacy Golden, and Kelly Buxton for their understanding, flexibility, and talent as educators. I would like to thank Michelle Ridgway of Oceanus Alaska for developing and leading classroom activities, Patty Dick for her contagious passion for plankton, Paul Hershberger of the U.S. Geological Survey for sharing his knowledge of herring parasites, and Ryan Carpenter of Sitka National Historical Park for his expertise on herring predators and engaging students so well. Aaron Dupuis and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game kindly provided fish for dissection.
Lauren Sill of ADF&G again provided guidance in measuring subsistence herring egg harvest. Justin Koller and Rob Cross of the U.S. Forest Service and Marnie Chapman and Meredith Redick of the University of Alaska Southeast were instrumental in allowing students at Keet Gooshi Heen to observe herring egg development. The Bureau of Indian Affairs provided funding for our herring outreach. Allen Marine, Harry Race, and Yellow Jersey Cycles all graciously provided discounted goods and services. Bethany Goodrich donated gorgeous photos. I would like to thank former STA fisheries biologist and current Simon Fraser University graduate student (and herring researcher) Jess Gill for her advice and guidance in running all the Herring Festival activities. I would like to thank all the elders who shared traditional knowledge with students and researchers.
Esther Kennedy and Amanda Duvall of Run Sitka organized the Herring Fun Run and we had a record turn-out with 62 racers! Many thanks to all the race volunteers. Max Kritzer of KCAW was patient and kind in producing our PSA, Heleena VanVeen of SEARHC provided wonderful nutritious recipes for herring eggs, and Tony Rosas and the Harrigan Centennial Hall staff were exceptional in hosting our potluck. I would like to thank all the Sitkans who attended our potluck and brought wonderful food and asked engaging questions. I would like to thank Dr. Lorenz Hauser and Eleni Petrou of the University of Washington for sharing their research on herring genetics. I would like to further acknowledge their efforts to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge into their work. Lastly, I would like to thank all the Sitkans who took some time to celebrate herring this spring.
Many thanks and hooray for herring,
Kyle Rosendale
Fisheries Biologist
Sitka Tribe of Alaska
