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.
6/27: Golden Days, Final Grizzlies Game
June 27, 2008 | Tags: Audio, Events, Football
This week we highlight our participation in the Golden Days events coming up next month, mention Fairbanks to Frankfurt Germany flights, and the final home game for the Fairbanks Grizzlies. Play or download the update below.
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.
The Latest Entries
June 26, 2008 | Tags: Denali, Photos
After some extra encouragement, several people have decided join the latest round of our Fairbanks and Interior Alaska Photo Contest. Here are a few few of the latest shots. Judging will take place at the end of August; submit today!
Quick Poll: Which of the three above do you like best?
- Bull moose in lake. (52%, 12 Votes)
- On the road to Denali. (26%, 6 Votes)
- Dogs at Open North American. (22%, 5 Votes)
Total Voters: 23
Loading ...Not Much Competition…Yet
June 5, 2008 | Tags: Photos
We hand out prizes quarterly in our Fairbanks and Interior Alaska Photo Contest. After wrapping up the voting for January through April, we were expecting a cascade of new shots for the May through August round. To our surprise there have only been a few photos submitted as of today. This gives aspiring photographers the opportunity to leap into the competition-void with an astonishing and breathtaking series of up to five master works (cheesiness and over-dramatization intended). Or…you could just upload a couple of cool shots from your trip and see how they rate during the voting at the end of August.
The above is one of our latest entries. If you want to join us, we would be happy to have you. Just read all the details on the Photo Contest entry page - sign up - then upload your favorites. We’ll let you know in a couple of months whether or not you’re a winner. Thanks for participating!
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.
From which country are you planning an Interior Alaska vacation?
- Germany (0%, 0 Votes)
- Other (0%, 0 Votes)
- The United States (0%, 0 Votes)
- The UK (0%, 0 Votes)
- Canada (0%, 0 Votes)
- Japan (0%, 0 Votes)
Total Voters: 0
Loading ...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
