| Sunrise: | 7:45 AM ADT |
| Sunset: | 5:45 PM ADT |
Did you know that Saturday, October 18th, was Alaska Day, the annual celebration of the 1867 transfer of Alaska from Russia to the United States. No where in the world do they celebrate this holiday like they do in Sitka-- not even anywhere in Alaska. Here it is a week long celebration, as big a deal as Christmas. The first sign of Alaska Day is a whole weekend before, starting with the Keystone Cops, women dressed in goofy police outfits that will kiss you with bright red lipstick and charge you 2$ if you aren't wearing the Alaska Day pins they sell. Repeat offenders get put in the Keystone Jail and marched in the parade. The revenues from fines and pins helps pay for the cost of Alaska Day celebrations.The JV experience of Alaska Day:
Monday we went to see the New Archangel Dancers, and spotted people in the audience dressed in period costume. The week was full of concerts and events and Friday we got the day off work (Yay!) and I went to the Sheldon Jackson Native Heritage Museum for free, and then went over to a friends house for a potluck. Although we didn't attend, that night was the Alaska Day Ball, a period dress Ball, in which my coworker told me he won best Russian costume with his wife, and got recruited to be a Russian soldier in the reenactment the next day...
And after all this build up was Saturday, Alaska Day itself! My favorite part of Alaska Day was the parade. Now, if you're picturing the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, or Aladdin (don't they look lovely June?) scale down a little bit. Well, scale down to black powder guns, tanks, helicopters, that is. The parade spoke reams about the Sitka community, so I'm going to list all the floats that I can remember.
*A Helicoptor fly by
*A float of a light house,
*People in period costume, shooting off period guns
*The Coast Guard,
*The Sitka Sentinel, celebrating 140 years covering the news in Sitka
*Keystone Cops and their prisoners,
*The Shriners driving around in little red cars (where did those come from??? Can I be a shriner for halloween???)
*A Chelan float, for the Sunday Vegetable Market
*The Sitka Search and Rescue Team
*A progression of modes of transportation and their cost/gallons/mile, (a demonstration by the Sitka Conservation Society)
*A huge Democratic party campaigning mob,
My favorite:
* The Sitka High School marching band wearing matching rain jackets and Xtra Tufs.
After the parade came the transfer ceremony, reenacting the handing over of Alaska to the United States, symbolized by the lowering of the Russian flag, the raising of the American flag, and a gun shot for every state in the union, ending in cheers for Alaska joining the US as a territory. By the way, when they called out Texas, I let out a nice "Yeee haw!" I wasn't planning on doing that, it just came out :) Last year, Palin came and gave a speech. She sent her apologies for not being able to come this year. hrmph.
The rest of the evening my housemates spent stalking the amazing, heart stirring Seattle Firefighter Pipe Band, who were shipped in to Sitka by a resident who is an avid fan of both bagpipes and Alaska Day. They traveled from the parade, to the Old Pioneer Home, and to local establishments in downtown Sitka. I was absolutely exhausted and was carboloading for the Biathalon the next day, so after hearing them play at the Old Pioneer Home, I ate spaghetti, took a nap and went to church before went to watch (<--- proof that I was exhausted. When has Eileen ever gone to a social dancing event and just watched?) the Contradancing at Centennial Hall that night. What a fun day. I hope you all had a fantastic Alaska Day as well!
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