There are still about 20 fir Christmas trees available to buy at Haines High School. See English teacher Alex Van Wyhe or stop by the school’s main office to get one.
Freshman trumpeter Mark Davis recently was featured in two musical performances at Michigan State University. He played a recital with the Grand River Brass Quintet and also performed in the school’s Comfort and Joy orchestral concert. Davis is scheduled to perform at the Chilkat Center on Sunday at the Holly Jolly Follies.
Tiana Perry-Traudt’s no-bake dark chocolate cookies were among the favorites of those shared at Monday’s staff cookie exchange at Haines School. Tiana makes them with oatmeal, peanut butter, and dark chocolate.
The Chilkoot Indian Association is holding a holiday open house from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Dec. 21. Stop by the CIA’s Third Avenue office to share treats and conversation with neighbors, tribal members, and employees.
Rachel Saitzyk and Jeff Moskowitz hosted Rachel’s mom Susan Saitzyk for a week-long visit that ended Tuesday. Susan lives outside Baltimore, Md. Her first visit to Haines included her first outing on snowshoes – to cut down a Christmas tree. She also witnessed the aurora borealis from inside Rachel and Jeff’s living room on FAA Road. Waylaid in Juneau for two days by bad weather, Susan stayed with a family that had befriended porcupines. “Before she even made it to Haines she had petted a porcupine,” Rachel said.
“Eskimo Ninja” Nick Hanson, the athlete and motivational speaker who addressed Haines students this week, has a local connection. Jack Davis, brother of Haines music teacher Matt Davis, taught Hanson math at Unalakleet High School and was a mentor to him, Hanson said. Jack was also a high school classmate of Hanson’s mom.
Bookstore owner Amy Kane and artist Kelleen Adams teamed up to offer a pop-up art class on Sunday at the store. Twelve participants created colorful, mixed-media holiday trees, starting with a painted canvas and arranging beach glass on top to shape a tree. A poured-over glue mixture fixed the glass and other objects in place. Kelleen said participants personalized their pieces with such items as treasure rocks and animal teeth. A similar class is planned for near Valentine’s Day. Contact the bookstore or phone Kelleen at 512-789-3198.
Gus Wendel is in town, visiting parents Tom and Katie Wendel. Gus lives in Los Angeles and is a doctoral student in urban planning at UCLA. Besides distance working for UCLA’s Citylab, Gus has been enjoying cross-country skiing outings at 25 Mile, Chilkoot Lake, and Jones Point, Katie said.
Nicholas Szatkowski and Jordan Baumgartner led students in Klukwan and Haines into the sunshine Wednesday to document bird sightings in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count, a local event since 1987. Dan Egolf provided checklists and participation forms. Dozens of people were expected to participate in two circles of concentration downtown and near the village. John Norton will compile the sightings data. Traditionally held on a Saturday, the count was moved to a weekday a few years ago to involve students. KHNS reported that Southeast Alaska hosts about 70% of all birds in Alaska, and almost half of the birds are found in North America.
“Welcome to Earth,” a National Geographic six-part series that includes footage from around Haines, started December 9 on the Disney+ network. The series features film star and outdoorsman Will Smith adventuring in remote and extreme corners of the globe, with an emphasis on multisensory adventure. The program is available in a format to accommodate viewers who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, low vision, and deafblind. Erik Weihenmayer, a blind adventurer, was part of the Haines filming and could smell the locations of glaciers from rivers and orient by them, according to local guides who accompanied the film crew.