The Chilkat Valley News, Haines Alaska
Chilkat Valley News, Haines, Alaska Serving Haines and Klukwan since 1966
Chilkat Valley News, Haines Alaska

Volume XXXVIII    Number 29,   July 24, 2008

Front Page

Duly Noted

Letters

Unclassifieds

News Archive


About CVN

Contact Us

Subscribe

Advertise



State fair turns 40 with new attractions, music

By Tom Morphet

The 40th annual Southeast Alaska State Fair kicks off noon Thursday, promising new attractions alongside old favorites during four days of music, entertainment, competitions, rides, exhibits and food.

Resident Greg Podsiki has entered exhibits, volunteered, judged or worked at the fair each year since moving here in 1979. He’s partial to traditional exhibits of livestock, food and vegetables, but he expects new spectator events will steal the show.

"The sumo wrestling and bull-riding are going to be the big hits, for sure. Everybody’s going to love that," he predicted Tuesday, while preparing his family’s burrito booth at the fairgounds.

Kelly Hostetler, who started as fair manager in January, said she’s enthused about the new additions, including a children’s carnival and petting zoo, but she’s hoping classic events like the Carnival of Casseroles don’t get overlooked.

"I’m just excited to see it all come together. Being able to add new events puts a certain drain on the volunteer community, but everybody’s really stepped up. I wouldn’t have gotten this far without people coming out and saying, ‘I’ll do that.’"

A mechanic bull from Juneau will be the first cowboy-themed event in town since the fair hosted a rodeo in the mid-1990s. Owner Robby Harris has taken the machine throughout Southeast and said the best riders aren’t usually the toughest-looking.

"You’ve got to limber up. Those big old, burly ones don’t stay on too good. It’s not a matter of strength. It’s a matter of balance," Harris said. Greenhorns who survive the first eight seconds get a moment’s pause before the bull’s computer brain starts into a more aggressive series of jumps. "It’s pretty entertaining to watch," Harris said.

Sumo wrestling also should be good for some laughs, Hostetler said. The oversized, inflatable suits worn by contestants aren’t easy to maneuver in and some people who try it might have a hard time getting upright if they fall over, she said. It’s also a workout, she said, and some participants may not last their allotted five minutes in the ring.

Harriet Hall offers a quiet refuge for those needing a break from fast-paced action. The hall was brightly decorated this week, brimming with exhibits including Burl Sheldon’s 17-foot, hand-made, Swampscott dory, Scotty Hansen’s "Iraqi Freedom Outpost" Lego creation and Julie Slanaker’s champagne salal jelly.

Salal is a dark, lowbush berry that tastes like a mushy blueberry gone bad, but boiling out its juice and adding lemon, sugar and dash of champagne makes an exquisite jelly, Slanaker said. Besides, salal berries grow likes weeds around her Ketchikan home.

"I started experimenting with it last year and my family really liked it. I thought I’d enter it in the fair and see how everybody else likes it." She also entered a pumpkin jam and Dutch apple pie jam.

Slanaker goes hunting in old cookbooks for different recipes, then will add a custom touch for a unique taste. She won ribbons last year for her spicy huckleberry and blueberry jams, using cinnamon and nutmeg, and has added jalapenos to some of her creations. "My family is always giving me new ideas."

Slanaker, a 39-year-old radio ad saleswoman, has never been to the fair, but said she hopes to make it some day. Last year she entered some quilts she made.

One exhibit by professional artist Cathy Klinkert is a shell-encrusted "altered book" that sparkles with decorative touches. Klinkert said she started making the books 40 years ago as a craft item called "memory books," but the idea has been rediscovered by a new generation of artists. "They’ve become quite the art form now."

Klinkert and her husband operate an oyster farm on a remote corner of northwest Prince of Wales Island. Their jobs keep them put and allow her time for art, which includes sand painting. "I’d love to come up for the fair. I don’t get to see much of my competition, living remote like I do."

Harriet Hall also will host artists in action Saturday. Glass artist John Svenson will give a flameworking demonstration. "I’ll be making little fish or whatever I can make quickly that will be fun." Donna Catotti will demonstrate silk-screening.

Crafts at the Kids’ Stage will include decorating giant puppets Thursday and Friday and tie-dyeing T-shirts Saturday. Crafts and games run 1 to 4 p.m. daily and on Saturday, children should bring a white T-shirt for dyeing.

The logging show will feature men’s and women’s events, beginning 1 p.m. Saturday, including log-rolling over water, a traditional crowd-pleaser. Organizer Ashleigh Sage said for the sake of the log rollers, she’s hoping for sunshine. "We don’t want people to get hypothermia this year."

A commercial fisherman’s rodeo also will be held, for the second year, 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Dalton City. Events will include net-mending, survival suit donning, gear baiting, and marine trivia.

The Carnival of Casseroles grand prize this year is a hand-made ceramic bowl thrown by Haines artist Renee Hoffman. Meat, seafood, vegetarian, dairy and dessert dishes qualify. Entries should be at Harriet Hall between 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday.

The Fair’s Grand Parade starts 11 p.m. at the firehall. The theme of the parade is "Celebrating 40 Fairs." Floats should meet at the fire hall. Registration for the The Loveable Dog Contest is 10 a.m. at the firehall. Dogs will be judged by their appearance in the parade and by other activities after the parade at Tlingit Park.

See insert in this newspaper for a complete schedule of events.

 

 

 

 

 
 

    Chilkat Valley News
      Main Street/ PO Box 630
      Haines AK 99827
        (907) 766-2688
       cvn@chilkatvalleynews.com

This site copyright (c) 2007
   Chilkat Valley News

Last modified: Wednesday, 23-Jul-2008 17:17:11 PDT