Breaking News Page Added
August 1, 2008 | Tags: New Features
The recent addition of an Inside Alaska FriendFeed has given us the opportunity to provide even more up-to-date information on Fairbanks and Interior Alaska. Regular InsideAlaska.org visitors can now click the Breaking News tab above to see the our very latest links, photos and video posted around the web. View the live FriendFeed below to see what we mean:
All Inside Alaska articles are now compiled and presented in one compact format for easy access via FriendFeed at insidealaska.org/breaking-news.
Fairbanks is Social Networking
July 29, 2008 | Tags: New Features
The Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau is always working to help visitors experience the light, energy and warmth of our Interior Alaska home. Buzz words and phrases like blog, social network and RSS feed are only in our vocabulary because they give us opportunities to reach an audience eager to see and hear from Authentic Alaskans.
We offer you a number of new opportunities to keep up with what is happening around Fairbanks and within the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau. You’ve already begun by visiting our official Fairbanks blog, but you can also:
- Subscribe to Inside Alaska via FeedBurner
- Subscribe to Inside Alaska via E-mail
- Visit our Inside Alaska FriendFeed
- Keep up with Inside Alaska on Twitter
Links to some of the most popular social networks are included in every Inside Alaska article (see icons directly below this post). They give you the opportunity to share what you have experienced here with friends and family online.
Local Ice Cream #7 in the World
July 29, 2008 | Tags: Food
Tauck World Discovery has named one of our local favorites among the best places in the world for ice cream. Our very own Hot Licks Ice Cream is number seven on their World’s Top 10 Places For Ice Cream list.
Launched over 20 years ago by two brothers from Boston, Hot Licks offers locally inspired flavors including Aurora Borealis (local blueberry and cranberry purees swirled into vanilla ice cream), Alaska Birch Walnut (local birch syrup and California walnuts) and Nanook Nosh (vanilla, melted milk chocolate and caramel). “I’m an expert on this,” says Tauck Director Neil Zaer, who has also worked for Tauck in Hawaii, the American West, Australia and New Zealand. “I try the local ice cream everywhere I travel, and this is the real thing.”
Please note that our local ice creamary shows up three places ahead of the world renown Ben and Jerry’s in Vermont. Congratulations Hot Licks!
Clearing the Final Hurdle
June 30, 2008 | Tags: Statehood Celebration
The US Senate voted in favor of Alaska statehood 50 years ago today. By way of commemoration, the state of Alaska has recently introduced a website that serves as a jumping off point for 50th anniversary news and event information.
Remaining events in Fairbanks include the Forum of Young Alaskans:
A statewide conversation of the youth and young adults from around Alaska coming together to discuss the pressing issues and current challenges facing their generation. The Forum is based in three major hubs (Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks) as well as smaller hubs around the state. For more information see YoungAlaskans.org.
Come Hear the Song of the Earth
June 26, 2008 | Tags: Art, Music, UAF
Fairbanks musician John Luther Adams was recently profiled by The New Yorker magazine in an article from Alex Ross titled Song of the Earth. The piece focuses largely on an Adams creation for the University of Alaska Museum of the North.
On a recent trip to the Alaskan interior, I didn’t get to see the aurora borealis, but I did, in a way, hear it. At the Museum of the North, on the grounds of the University of Alaska in Fairbanks, the composer John Luther Adams has created a sound-and-light installation called “The Place Where You Go to Listen”—a kind of infinite musical work that is controlled by natural events occurring in real time.
You’ll find both artist and creation fascinating, as Ross first describes the place:
The first day I was there, “The Place” was subdued, though it cast a hypnotic spell. Checking the Alaskan data stations on my laptop, I saw that geomagnetic activity was negligible. Some minor seismic activity in the region had set off the bass frequencies, but it was a rather opaque ripple of beats, suggestive of a dance party in an underground crypt…
When I arrived the next day, just before noon, “The Place” was jumping. A mild earthquake in the Alaska Range, measuring 2.99 on the Richter scale, was causing the Earth Drums to pound more loudly and go deeper in register. (If a major earthquake were to hit Fairbanks, “The Place,” if it survived, would throb to the frequency 24.27Hz, an abyssal tone that Adams associates with the rotation of the earth.) Even more spectacular were the high sounds showering down from speakers on the ceiling. On the Web site of the University of Alaska’s Geophysical Institute, aurora activity was rated 5 on a scale from 0 to 9, or “active.” This was sufficient to make the Aurora Bells come alive.
And the man who made The Place Where You Go to Listen a reality:
Adams blends in well with the proudly scruffy characters who populate the diners and bars of Fairbanks. Tall and rail-thin, his handsomely weathered face framed by a short beard, he bears a certain resemblance to Clint Eastwood, and speaks in a similarly soft, husky voice. He’s not unworldly—he travels frequently to New York, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and other cultural capitals—but he is happiest when he goes on extended camping trips into the wilderness, especially to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. He exudes a regular-guy coolness that is somewhat unusual in contemporary composers.
Be sure to visit our world class Museum of the North on your trip to Fairbanks.
Official: Second Coolest Photos
June 5, 2008 | Tags: Photos
Every day we are provided a list of search terms that resulted in a visit to Inside Alaska. One in particular caught our attention today: “cool pictures of Alaska”. While our humble opinion has always been that many of the “coolest” photos of Alaska can be found here; we were ecstatic to see an “authoritative source” like Google finally agrees. According to them, we have the second coolest set of Alaska pictures on the web. Hopefully with your support we can make #1 some day! 
See some of our officially cool photos in the Photo Gallery, via our Photos tag, on the Fairbanks Photo Contest page, or in our Interactive Guides.
Welcoming Potential Visitors from China
June 4, 2008 | Tags: International, Welcome
FCVB Tourism Director Colin Lawrence was recently on a joint mission with Alaska Travel Industry Association representative Jesse Carlstrom promoting Alaska travel in China. New regulations will make it easier and less expensive for the Chinese to travel in the United States, and Alaska is already preparing to receive them. Jesse can be seen in this report from CCVT in China explaining how tourism companies in our state are equipped to meet the demand.
Here are a few resources to help you plan:
- International Language Sites: Japanese, Korean, Deutsch
- Interactive Visitors Guides: Winter, Year-Round
- Business Listings by Region: Fairbanks, Denali Neighbors, Interior Neighbors, Alaskan Neighbors, Arctic Neighbors
Expanded Schedule: Museum of the North
Visitors will now have more time to explore the galleries at the University of Alaska Museum of the North. Closing time this summer will be 9pm, providing extra time for catching the auditorium shows called Dynamic Aurora and Winter, which have been moved forward one week this year. Daily show times for Dynamic Aurora will be 10am, 2pm and 7:30pm. Winter can be seen at 11am and 3pm. Additional showings may be added based upon visitor demand. Details on other new items for this summer can be found on the Museum homepage.
Welcome: Fairbanks International Airport
May 22, 2008 | Tags: Airport, Golden Heart Greeters, Welcome
The Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau has a new and more prominent place to welcome visitors at the recently renovated Fairbanks International Airport terminal. Our “Welcome to Fairbanks” kiosk will be one of the first things you see as you get off your flight. Friendly Golden Heart Greeters or Visitor Information Specialists will often be on hand to give a word of welcome, answer a question, or direct you to the brochure, map or other piece of material you need to make your visit more comfortable and fun.
Alaska: Celebrating 50 Years of Statehood
May 16, 2008 | Tags: Events, Statehood Celebration
Alaska officially begins a two-year celebration of its history and culture in Fairbanks on May 28th by marking the 50th anniversary of its statehood, which was officially granted on January 3, 1959. A series of 50th Anniversary events are scheduled throughout the summer, here are the tentative plans for our area courtesy of Festival Fairbanks:
- Friday, May 23 - Trace Adkins in Concert at Carlson Center
- Saturday, May 24 - A Look Back at Our History – Alaska Museums Day
- Sunday, May 25 - Memorial Day
- Monday, May 26 - Memorial Day Observance
- Tuesday, May 27 - A Look Forward to the Future…AGIA Findings, Chamber’s Luncheon: Noon ~ 1pm @ Carlson Center
- Wednesday, May 28 - Bonfire, Bar-B-Q and Music at Pioneer Park (Peger Rd. back entrance) 5:30 – 8:30 PM Special Guests: Senator Ted Stevens, Senator Lisa Murkowski, Mayor Terry Strle, Mayor Jim Whitaker, Interior Delegation
- Thursday, May 29 - Elton John in Concert at the Carlson Center
- Friday, May 30 - Proud To Be Alaskan: Join us for the community festival at Pioneer Park
- Saturday, May 31 - Kite Day at Griffin Park in Downtown Fairbanks at 2pm. Free kites for the first 500 people!
The Alaska Statehood Celebration Commission has a few more details.
