Sixteen Haines students traveled to the 51st annual Southeast Music Festival in Juneau held April 10-12. Matt Davis said all of the school’s music students go, including the concert band, Man-ish Choir, jazz band and several choir students. In attendance were Rylee Sloan, Syd Salmon, Kate Benda, Willa Stuart, Kaitlann Jim, Klover Cinocco, Isabelle Alamillo, Colin Aldassy, Brody Ferrin, Phoenix Swaner, JC Davis, Wade Lloyd, Maddox Rogers, Matthew Rosenberry, and Noah Nash.
The Alaska Art Confluence conducted a felting seminar this week, led by Joe Parnell, which focused on the intricacies of designing and creating felt scenes. Local attendee Jane Pascoe and others joined a couple of out-of-town visitors who discovered the class through a flier. Seanna Gunn from Homer, Alaska, and her friend DiAnna Cullen from Murrieta, Calif., thoroughly enjoyed the felting process and the opportunity to be creative at the Haines Sheldon Museum. Art Fest events are ongoing.
Kiersten Long and Jaden Rowley welcomed their son, Grayson Curtis Rowley, into the world. He was born in Silverdale, Washington. He was 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 20 inches long. Long’s mother was also present at the birth.
Skagway hosted a disc tournament recently at which some Haines locals really shined. Colton Baker threw a disc 460 feet in the distance competition. He teamed up with Jeremy Reed to come in second in the tournament. Dennis Durr and Tim Ewing came in third. It was an exciting final round when the leaders lost a two-stroke lead with three holes remaining.
Kristin Hathhorn and Mark Battaion are home in Haines after an 88-temple pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku, Japan. Mark says that they visited 30 to 35 temples. They started in Kochi and ended in Ozu. Along the way they stayed with hosts and enjoyed local culture. The first four weeks were on foot; the couple wrapped up the trip on bikes. Notable highlights were the people handing out candy and a pretty cool blue grass bar in Tokyo.
The “Bunny Hop” 5K fun run was a resounding success last weekend, drawing an enthusiastic crowd of participants. Among them were Katie Jim and Jennifer Motes, who, along with the group, gathered at the school dressed in their finest bunny ears ready to hop, skip and jump their way through town.
The Alaska Arts Confluence’s “Art on the Trails” 2025 was well attended this year. Helen Alten reported that 54 people enjoyed a sunny stroll along the CIA trail. Some of the highlights were Rhonda Degtoff and her cedarbark basket weaving and Audrey Smith demonstrating a traditional-style floor loom. Live music was provided by Tom Heywood and the Extended Play band. This event marked the kickoff of ARTFEST 2025, a two-week celebration featuring free workshops, showcases and live music.
The road construction on Second Avenue didn’t negatively affect Gomi’s Garden spring bulb sale. In fact, this year was record-setting. Sabine Churchill, the owner, chose to support a local business this year by purchasing whiskey barrel halves from the Port Chilkoot Distillery for her potato display. The scent of whiskey filled the air as around 20 gardeners queued up for the opening. Churchill mentioned that some customers were disappointed to discover that daffodils and crocuses are not spring bulbs. Others commented that the 20 different potato varieties were impressive this year.
The Chilkat Center was bustling during the most recent River Talk event on April 16. The story theme was “WTF!” Greg Podsiki’s interactive song really got the crowd hyped. Helen Alten described the blueberry scones as “a delight.” The wild cherry compote also received rave reviews. The lobby of the Chilkat Center, affectionately known as “the Chit Chat Cafe,” offered up this delightful assortment of snacks that did not disappoint.