Mermaid Festival Launches
with Music, Markets, Food
The second annual Sitka Mermaid Festival will continue this week with a full calendar of events including a banquet, music, market, and games and races. Saturday will culminate with a ‘‘Rock the Dock’’ concert at the Crescent Harbor shelter.
This year’s theme is “Vitamin Sea: Nurturing the Ocean that Nurtures Us.”
The hope, organizer Amelia Mosher said, is to educate the public on the abundance of seaweed around Sitka and its many uses. Mosher also is the director of the Greater Sitka Arts Council.
Tonight, ‘‘Mermaids Love Seaweed!’’ is slated 6-8 p.m. at Evergreen Natural Foods. A discussion on how seaweed supports women’s health will be followed by a make-and-take seaweed cosmetics activity. It is hosted by Evergreen Natural Foods, at Sawmill Creek Plaza.
‘‘Food for Thought: Where Art and Science Intersect’’ will be 6-8 p.m. Thursday at the Sitka Sound Science Center. The panel discussion from local artists, mathematicians and scientists on drawing creative inspiration from science will be presented by Cyndi Gibson, Norm Campbell, Amelia Mosher and Bobbi Jordan. Attendees can take their sketchbooks for the art activity following the panel discussion.
On Friday, doors open at 6 p.m. at Centennial Hall for the Umami Banquet: A Tasting Event, hosted by the Sitka Mermaid Festival and the Sitka Seafood Festival. Presenting partner Alaska Airlines will fly visiting chef Cassandra Kelly of Arcata, California, to Sitka to work with local chefs to prepare a selection of small plates and charcuterie board sourced from the sea. Sitka Cirque will perform. The banquet includes live music, silent auction and a full bar. Seating is limited. The full tasting menu is $65, standing-room-only, $40. Tickets are available at Old Harbor Books and online at https://www.eventbrite.com/o/sitka-mermaid-festival-26255816121.
Following the banquet will be ‘‘Siren Song Jazz After Hours’’ at the Pub with Stephanie Rebecca Patton and Jesse Sullivan. No cover will be charged due to the support of sponsors.
All-day Mermaid Festival events scheduled Saturday at Centennial Hall and Crescent Harbor shelter include the following:
–The Mermaid Market is slated 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at Centennial Hall;
–Food trucks will be under Crescent Harbor shelter, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.;
–Mermaid Promenade Along the Sea Walk gathers at the new playground near Sitka Sound Science Center at 11 a.m. Participants will leave at 11:30 a.m. and march down the SeaWalk to Crescent Harbor Shelter;
–Kids games will be noon-3 p.m. under Crescent Harbor Shelter;
–Fish tote races are set 4-6 p.m. at Crescent Harbor;
–The Rock the Dock concert is listed 5-11p.m. under Crescent Harbor shelter. It will boast music, beer garden and food trucks;
–The Mermaid Market continues 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 1, at Centennial Hall. Food trucks will be under Crescent Harbor shelter, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.
Those interested in getting involved or volunteering with the event can contact Mosher at (707) 672-2909.
For more information email sitkamermaidfestival@gmail.com or like the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/SitkaMermaidFestival.
Park Program on
Baskets, Book
Sitka National Historical Park will host Delores Churchill, world-renowned Haida weaver, to speak 5:30 p.m. Aug. 30.
Churchill will talk about the Doris Borhauer Basket Collection at the park, and the book “A Celebration of Weavers,” which documents the weavers of the baskets of the collection.
The program in the park visitor center auditorium is free and open to the public. Call 747-0110 for information.
Legion Youth
Baseball Organized
Parents and players, ages 14-19, are being encouraged to attend an informational meeting regarding the Sitka Post #13 American Legion baseball team that will play a nearly-30 game schedule in June and July next year.
The meeting will be noon on Sunday, Sept. 1, in the meeting room in the basement of the former Sitka Community Hospital.
Those with questions can email Brandon at marxlaw@gci.net.
SJ Museum
Closes Monday
Sheldon Jackson Museum will be closed on Monday, Sept. 2, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.
Summer hours will resume 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, daily, until the museum shifts to winter hours mid-September. The museum is closed on observed state holidays.
Transfer Station
Closure Given
The city transfer station will be closed Sept. 9-15 to replace the truck scale.
It will re-open 8 a.m. Sept. 16. Those with questions can contact the city public works department at 747-1804.
ANB to Meet
Alaska Native Brotherhood Camp 1 will meet 5 p.m. Sept. 11 at the ANB Founders Hall.
On the agenda is the nomination of delegates to ANB/ANS Grand Camp convention to be held in Anchorage the first week of October.
ANB members are being encouraged to attend the meeting. Call Harriet at 744-6912 or George at 500-4400 for more information.
SE Mushroom
Class at UAS
A three-day UAS-Sitka Campus workshop to introduce the mushroom flora of Southeast Alaska will focus on the use of taxonomic keys for identification.
Fungi recognition of both edible and poisonous mushrooms will be covered. The cooking and preservation of washrooms will be discussed. Field trips are followed by in-class identification of collected mushrooms. The class runs Sept. 12, 14 and 15. Call 747-7700 to register or for more information.
Hames Center
Open Labor Day
The Hames Center will be open 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Sept. 2, Labor Day.
Tot’s Gym will be available 9 a.m.-10:30 a.m., Dance Fitness is at noon and Lunch Spin at 12:15 p.m.
For information and schedules visit www.hamescenter.org or call 747-5080.
Senior Walking
Hours at Hames
The free Senior Walking Hours program will return to the Hames Center on Tuesday, Sept 3.
Walking hours are 10-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Pedometers to track steps will be provided. Caregivers and friends are welcome. For information call Hames Center 747-5080.
