Critically Injured
Dear Editor: Eighteen-year-old Johnny Bean Botello was critically injured in a collision with a logging truck while on his way to work on June 20. He is in a coma at Harborview Hospital in Seattle.
His neighbors in Port Protection are holding a neighbor action auction to help with medical expenses. If you would like to donate an item to be auctioned, please contact Gretchen at 907-489-2252. The neighbor action auction will be held Saturday, Sept. 12, at the Wooden Wheel Cove Trading Post in Port Protection.
Gretchen Goldstein, Port Protection
Card of Thanks
Dear Editor: We would like to give a big thank you to the Sitka Elks Lodge and all the participants, friends, and family who contributed and were involved in the wonderful seafood benefit dinner and dessert auction for us.
We really appreciate your kindness and loving thoughts. One of the reasons why we live in a small town is that the community is your family and you always feel it pull together in times of need. Sitka has some amazing people who are truly kind-hearted.
We thank you so very much for the support you have shown us.
Charles and Lauren Estes, Sitka
New Old Time Chautauqua
Dear Editor: To my way of thinking the recent visit by the New Old Time Chautauqua was like the sun shining after days of rain or rain after days of sunshine.
They have the true Chautauqua spirit: by continuing to combine the tradition from the early 1800s to emphasize education and lifelong learning. They also brought the spirit of vaudeville to life: defined as, “theatrical entertainment made up of songs, dances and comic acts.”
Another tradition is a thank you letter to the editor. Again and again the Sitka audiences are the best! Thank you for your participation in all the classes and your enthusiastic response to the evening show.
Thank you to those who attended the service/performance at the Russian Orthodox Cemetery. Others to be thanked include: Bob Sam for his help with getting this whole thing started and his leadership and moving words at the Russian Orthodox Cemetery.
At the Sitka Performing Arts Center thanks go to: J Bradley, Monica Ague, TJ Agne and Jeanne Stolberg. Thank you to John Stein, board president of the Greater Sitka Arts Council, for his behind-the-scenes work arranging for camping, transportation, food and a whole lot more.
Thank you to Mark Bautista, Twila Keaveny of the Sitka School District. Mark Buggins and Dan Cox for Sitka utilities, Bill Hutton for MEHS, and Lynne Brandon for Sitka Parks and Recreation.
Thank you to Mike and Sue Litman and Tim Holder for your support. It is much appreciated. What a great way to send off our Chautauqua guests at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Sheet Ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi community house and the Naa Kahidi Dancers for their performance at the potluck.
My apologies to all the other local people who slipped under the radar – your efforts are appreciated. Finally a huge encore of the Teddy Bears’ Picnic to all the Chautauqua Family who entertained, enlightened, and moved us in so many ways.
Jeff Budd, Sitka
Summer Music Festival
Dear Editor: The Sitka Summer Music Festival has wrapped up another tremendous season, but we’re still glowing from the incredible community support.
We’d like to give a standing ovation to the amazing staff at Harrigan Centennial Hall, who bent over backwards to accommodate our events, especially when they overlapped with the North Pacific Fisheries meeting. We are so grateful to Tim Thompson and Alaska Airlines for donating airline tickets for our artists, and also to Jim Steffen, Judy Johnstone, Carmen Gibson Bartelds, Sharon Davies, Alison Lee and Jean Rainwater for donating miles and companion fare tickets.
Thanks to BP, Holland America Line, Sea Mart and the Sitka Fine Arts Camp for their invaluable support of our free events; Silver Bay Seafoods, and Allen Marine Tours for their generous underwriting of our special fundraising events; Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Harry Race Pharmacy, Dove Island Lodge, Neurobehavioral Consultants, Norcoast Marine Surveyors and the Lehmann family for sponsoring evening concerts; Doug and Olga Borland for hosting our Sunday Brunch Concert; ExxonMobil for sponsoring our summer intern; Seafood Producers Co-op, Sitka Sound Seafoods and Watson Point Liquors for donating delicious fish plus wine and beer for various events; the Daily Sitka Sentinel, Raven Radio, KIFW, North Star Television and the Sitka Soup for promotional assistance; Jim Dangel for always providing such beautiful stage flowers; UAS for hosting movie nights; the Blatchley Middle School Music Department for the use of their music stands; Peter Apathy and Mike Kernin for loaning equipment; the staff of Old Harbor Books for selling tickets; Ludvig’s Bistro, Bayview Pub, Larkspur Café, the Dock, Westmark Sitka, Channel Club, Sizzling Chow and Sea Mart for hosting the café concert series and/or helping to feed our artists; Rotary Club of Sitka, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Sitka Emblem Club, Mountainside Family Healthcare, Sitkans Against Family Violence, the Sitka Sound Science Center, and Sitka Counseling and Prevention Services for hosting the cookie receptions; Sitka Community Hospital for providing laundry services year-round; Alaska Coach Tours for providing transportation for our cruise ship visitors and to Jeff Budd for helping to coordinate those visits; and to Foreign Auto for letting us use their tents.
We’d also like to acknowledge the numerous individuals who gave invaluable support behind the scenes, starting with our Sitka board members for the uncountable ways they make it all happen: Cyndy Gibson, Dan Jones, Van Kramer, Don Lehmann, Kari Lundgren, Tiffany Pearson, Stef Steffen and Cindy Westergaard.
The concerts could not have happened without our star staff: Amy Zanuzoski, Amara Yachimski, Matthew Turner and Susan Reed, plus special thanks to Christine Davenport for capturing such beautiful photographs of our concerts and events. We have deep gratitude also for the 40-plus volunteers who worked as greeters, ticket-takers, ushers, and event volunteers, plus many thanks for the kind people who ensured a comfortable and welcoming living environment for our artists in Stevenson Hall or who generously provided meals and adventures for them.
Of course, the heart of this festival is the music, and we’d like to sincerely thank the musicians who dedicated their time and talent to be here with us in Sitka this summer: Thom Moore, Martin Sher, Madalyn and Cicely Parnas, Navah Perlman, the Matt Herskowitz Trio, Natasha Paremski, Yuliya Gorenman, Kurt Nikkanen, Scott Rawls, David Wiley, and the Arianna String Quartet.
Thanks also to Dr. Melissa Kraut and Elizabeth DeMio of the Cleveland Institute of Music for their leadership and assistance with our Sitka Cello Seminar.
And last, but certainly not least, our warmest gratitude to each and every person who attended our concerts and events this summer. Without audiences, this festival would not exist. Our guest artists are consistently amazed at the kindness of this community, and the incredibly warm reception they receive here. Thank you for providing such a nurturing home for this festival.
Zuill Bailey, Artistic Director,
Kayla Boettcher, Executive Director,
Sitka Summer Music Festival
