Wylie Betz, dressed in a bald eagle costume, rides down Main Street during the “mini parade” of the Bald Eagle Festival. Lex Treinen photo.
This month’s Alaska Bald Eagle Festival was a hit, according to festival organizers with the Haines Visitor Center.
“Basically every single event exceeded expectations in terms of attendance,” said borough tourism director Rebecca Hylton.
She said local hotels and short-term rentals reported being at capacity, and rental cars were all rented out. About 30 people paid for a shuttle to Klukwan on Saturday, and organizers had to scramble to find a second bus to accommodate the high demand.
The weekend festival, held Nov. 10-12, included events at a variety of venues – an opening ceremony at the American Bald Eagle Foundation with science lectures, a pancake breakfast at Haines School, and a silent auction at the Chilkat Center, among other events.
Hylton said one of the events, a documentary screening and science talk at the Jilkaat Kwaan Heritage Center in Klukwan on Saturday was standing room only. She estimated more than 100 people came to watch a recently released PBS documentary that featured the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve and hear a talk about ecology of the Chilkat Valley by Nick Szatkowski.
This year, the borough took over the organization of the event this summer from the Bald Eagle Foundation after the nonprofit realized it didn’t have capacity to run the festival. Hylton said the visitor center focused on offering opportunities to community groups to raise money and be part of the festival.
She said the events seemed to resonate with visitors.
“The feedback I got from visitors was that they loved it. They really liked being able to see the different venues from town and connect with the community,” she said.
The Haines Dolphins Swim Team’s pancake breakfast on Sunday raised $1,400 to pay for coaches’ fees, travel, and pool time.
“It went great,” said Jessica Edwards, who leads the Dolphins. “It was slow and steady all day.”
Haines Huts, which advocates for recreational development in the Chilkat Valley and recently set up the area’s newest public-use cabin, raised $2,800 from a silent auction at the Chilkat Center.
The visitor center said it debriefed with eagle foundation staff about the event, though it remains to be decided who will organize next year’s event.
“I know we can grow the festival, but we need that direction,” said Hylton.