Seafood Festival
Dear Editor: The Sitka Seafood Festival would like to say thank you for helping Sitka celebrate our wild Alaskan seafood! We had a wonderful turn-out for the 6th annual SSF. What once started as a local celebration to honor this industry has grown and now has national recognition, which we can only hope will help with Sitkaʼs tourism with education about our resources, and especially how to enjoy them! We had professional bloggers, photographers, chefs and visitors from around the globe here this year. We already have people booking their tickets for next year, so if you missed being a part of the festival or enjoying it this year, mark your calendars for Aug 5-7, 2016.
As always, we could not have put this event on without the generous support of Sitka and our sponsors. Our list is endless, and I am certain I will forget to name someone, but please know we appreciate each and every one of you and your support, from planning, to donating, to helping at the banquet, we could not do it without you! Please watch for our special thank you to our sponsors in the next couple weeks.
A big thank you to Sonny and Jo Cropley for putting up the chefs, the bloggers, the photographers, and everything you do for the SSF food booth during the Saturday event. Thank you to the Cooperative Extension for bringing Leslie Shallcross to teach six amazing classes, and to Jasmine Shaw for helping coordinate it all. Thank you to the Sitka Conservation Society, Salmon Beyond Borders, the Coliseum Theater, and of course the director of the film “The Breach,” Mark Titus, as well as the panel for sharing this wonderful film with Sitka. Thanks to Liza Martin for putting on a wonderful golf tournament, and to Sea Mountain Golf Course for donating the funds, and a special thank you to all that played on Sunday.
A very big thank you to Jana Suchy for sharing her beautiful photography collection with us and allowing so many of us to reminisce about this incredible industry and how it has changed over the years. And of course to the people who helped sponsor this, Craig Shoemaker at SPC and Tim Ryan at North Pacific Seafoods.
Thank you to Rick Armstrong and Suzan Hess at BIBCO for being an ever-generous sponsor of the SSF. A big thanks to Tim Holder and The Nugget Restaurant and Bar, as well as our official wine sponsor of the banquet: Rodney Strong Vineyards! A special thanks to Gary Fournier and Mark Daum of Odom/Southern Wine and Spirits for representing them. Thank you to Dave Nichols for the beautiful music during the VIP cocktail hour and the banquet. Thank you to the Pub for bringing up the fabulous band My Goodness, and a HUGE thank you to all the local bands that played for us on Saturday. I have heard from so many people that having live music is one of their favorite parts of the festival. These guys volunteered to play, so please give them a big thank you if you see them around town. And of course, thanks to those who helped set this up: John and Sharyn Ferrick, John Herchenrider and Jeanne Stolberg, Zak Dylan Wass, Jeff Cowan and Gus Nelson.
A very big thank you to Lauren Havens and the Sitka Fine Arts campus for putting up with us. This is a very long week of events, setting up, decorating, and taking down and they were very gracious about it, thank you. Thank you to the highland games coordinators including Ricky Parra, Eric Haseltine, Jenny Weisshaupt, and a special thank you to Jim and Jessica Gibson who came all the way back from Oregon to help out. I am sure the rest of Sitka would agree, thanks to all the participants for the entertainment.
Thank you to all who helped with setting up tents, staging, fencing, decorations, ironing, etc. These are daunting tasks that no one wants to help with, so thank you. A special thanks to Sitka Tours and Judson Rusk and Charles Rusk for helping move equipment, the boys basketball team members, as well as Frank and Sea Mart Quality Foods, Kent Gibson and Pete Weiland for helping get the tent set up. Thank you to all my volunteers including: Samantha Krause, Lois Verbaan, Jessica Pyatt, Barbara Palacious, Francis Lawless, Rene Mann, Lindsay Evans, Natalie Howard, Naajia Muhammad, Chris Polansky, Andy Scott, Sally Shwarze, Deb Miller, Teresa Bell, Bridget Kauffman, Norm Campbell, Liza Martin, Sandi Riggs, Jenny Blankenship, Cory Baggen, Sue Fithen, Destony Rosas, Kelsey Liu, Evie Soileau, Joseph Wilson, Ellie Handler, and everyone else that signed up later. I apologize if you are not listed, but thank you.
The SSF food booth was a great success, and a special thanks to Sonny Cropley for organizing it and running it, as well as Patrice and Dan Wilkins, Celeste Robertson, Robert Baines, Denton Pearson and Mary and Gerry Helem with the ice cream floats. Thanks to Gerry and Doug Helem for setting up power to all the vendors, and to Chris Balovich for lending us the Spider Boxes. Thank you to BMS and Community Schools for lending us the stage, and Stragier Sanitation and the port-a-potty man. Thanks to the Cross Trail Classic Marathon for working with us, and all media for dealing with our last-minute requests. Florence Welsh, Renee Pierce of Simple Pleasures, Lori Adams of Down to Earth, Colette and Ludvigʼs Bistro, Hope Merritt of Gimbal Botanicals, the Micheners of Alaska Pure Sea Salt, Edith and the Fly Fish Inn crew, and Robert Weddel for help with food and the kitchen.
Thanks for all the help with the contests on Saturday: Marty Martin/Martin Construction, Tim Ryan/Sitka Sound Seafoods, Serena Wild, Linda Boord/Murray Pacific, Kendall Whitney/ Seafood Producers Co-op, Becky and Greg Charlton, Melissa Dinsmore and Girl Scout Troop 4140, Roslyn Dailey and Don McKinnon, Don Kluting and Gerald Gangle, Mike Wasson/Alaska Travel Adventures, Allison Dunlap/Sitka Sound Ocean Adventures, Stan Eliason/Harbor Master, Sitka Youth Advocates, and all the participants. Thanks to all the help with the SSF parade: Jim and Mary Beck Moorman, Stef Steffen, Dane Tebo, Dan Jones, Jenny Goddard, Adam McLeod, Reber Stein, John Stein, Dick Kauffman, Tina Kauffman, Jeanine Holzman, Jeanette Farah, Mike Litman, Jo Cropley, Raven Radio, Sitka Police Department, Sean Riley and Sharon, and all the participants.
And lastly, thank you to our super volunteers. These people volunteer well over 40 hours/week, most of them balancing another full-time job on top of this. This is just another demonstration of the dedicated and amazing people we have here in Sitka.
Thank you to Megan Pasternak, Cherie Creek, Sabra Jenkins, Serena Wild, John and Sharyn Ferrick, Eric Haseltine, Mary and Gerry Helem, Jeren Schmidt, Sonny Cropley, and our Chefs Rob Kinneen, Dave Thorne, and Caleb France. The largest thank you to
our board members. These guys donʼt only volunteer 40-plus hours during the festival, but put an enormous amount of effort throughout the year into planning and fundraising to make this a true community event that all can enjoy.
Thanks to our director Carolyn Kinneen, Ann Wilkinson, Linda Olson, Keith Perkins, Sabrina Jenkins, Bobbi Jordan and Alicia Haseltine. Hope to see you all next year at the 7th annual SSF Aug 5-7, 2016.
Alicia Haseltine
Sitka Seafood Festival
Co-founder and Board Member
