Visitor Season
Venders to Meet
The city will host a pre-season vendor meeting 1 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at Centennial Hall in meeting room 6.
Topics will include how to obtain a permit to solicit and advertise or load and unload passengers at Centennial Hall, Crescent Harbor, or O’Connell Bridge lightering locations.
Also included will be procedures for the public outcry auction as well as the new application guidelines. Staff members will explain the plan for the flow of traffic and staging of vehicles for the upcoming season. A review of the rules for the Crescent Harbor and Harrigan Centennial Hall grounds will be covered.
Applications are available from the Centennial Hall manager’s office and will be available online after the meeting at www.cityofsitka.org. For information, call 907-747-4090.
Phuket Festival
Presentation Set
Ernest Manewal will give a slide presentation on the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, Thailand, at Sunday’s meeting of the Sitka Unitarian Fellowship.
The Chinese community of this Thai island celebrates the health benefits of vegetarianism each year with this colorful nine-day event, also known as the Nine Emperor Gods Festival.
All are welcome. Gathering is at 10:30 a.m., and the program begins at 10:45. Bread and soup follow the program at noon. The Fellowship Hall is at 408 Marine Street, with parking behind, off Spruce Street.
Plastic Buoys
Sought by Group
Plastic buoys are needed by Brave Heart Volunteers to be used for an art project.
Donations of basketball-size (or smaller), lightweight, hard plastic buoys are needed.
Artists are available and ready to transform the buoys into art for the Brave Heart Volunteers Buoy and Art fundraiser.
Call Michele at 907-752-0472 with questions.
BHV Launches
FB Fundraiser
Brave Heart Volunteers has launched its Fill the Heart Facebook fundraiser.
Contributions will be accepted to raise $10,000 by Feb. 28.
‘‘Your generosity will help ensure our ability to serve Sitkans who are experiencing grief, loneliness, or nearing the end of life,’’ BHV said in a press release.
One hundred percent of the donation will go to BHV.
Coho Clan Meets
The L’uknax.adi Coho Clan will hold a koo.eex’ planning meeting 12:30 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22, at the Kaayaashka Hit (Mother Coho House.)
Attendees can take a snack to share. For information contact Lillian Young at (907)752-0867 or Chuck Miller at (907)738-4025.
Scavenger Hunt
Set for Youths
Thirty-three pictures related to the Lunar New Year are hiding at Sitka Public Library as part of the Lunar New Year Scavenger Hunt, which runs Jan. 22-Feb. 12.
Youths of all ages can find them and decode a secret message. Correct answers go into a random raffle and the winner gets a prize. For information, contact Maite at maite.lorente@cityofsitka.org or call the library at 907-747-4020.
Presentation On Basketry
Scheduled at SJ Museum
The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum invites the public to attend its sixth event in its Winter Share Your Culture/ Share Your Research series noon Friday, Feb. 3.
Jan Steinbright will give a presentation titled “Out of Roots, Bark, Grass and Baleen: Alaska Native Basketry Stories” on Zoom and simultaneously in-person at the Sheldon Jackson Museum.
Those wanting to attend in person can call (907) 747-8981 to reserve a seat. Those attending via Zoom can visit www.zoom.com and input meeting ID: 895 9116 4275 and passcode: Jan.
‘‘In my 40 some years living and working with Alaska Native artists, I have had the honor of getting to know some incredibly talented people,’’ Steinbright said. ‘‘As an artist myself, I was particularly drawn to the practice of basketry, an art form I had been involved with since childhood. My job allowed me to gather materials and interact with Native basket makers as they went about their work.
‘‘I also was privileged to organize workshops around the state and work on exhibits for museums on basketry,’’ she said. ‘‘From these precious experiences, I have come away with many stories which I love to share.’’
Using a PowerPoint presentation, Steinbright will talk about the gathering and preparation of natural materials and the basket construction, and offer personal stories of the people.
The Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum is dedicated to supporting the museum and its Alaska Native ethnographic collection through advocacy, acquisition, and educational programming.
To learn more about the Friends, get involved, or learn more about events, visit: www.friendsofsjm.com.
Bereavement
Retreat Feb. 11
The Winter Heart Bereavement Retreat will be held 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, free of charge.
The Brave Heart Volunteeers retreat is funded by the Douglas-Dornan Foundation.
To attend, register by Feb. 1 with Kathryn@Braveheartvolunteers.org or call 907-747-4600.
