|
Juneau, Alaska |
Spring 2004 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What do salmon fishing and jazz have in common?
Arts & Culture Melding Musical Methods
As spring creeps in and the days lengthen, world-famous musicians converge to share their art in this cozy Southeast Alaskan community. Workshops offer a chance for music lovers to interact with performers and brown-bag lunch concerts share the beauty of music with office workers and students on break, while classical concerts bring audiences formal musical performances. Created in 1989 by Linda Rosenthal, the festival events are renowned as much for their intimacy as for their worldliness. Jazz and blues artists such as the Duke Ellington Orchestra and Bela Fleck and the Flecktones; and classical artists Vivica Genaux, Sharon Isbin and Alan Chow, are just a few of the many performers to have joined Juneau Jazz & Classics. Preceding Juneau Jazz & Classics each year in April is the down-home, foot-stompin', partner-swingin' musical heyday -- the Alaska Folk Festival. In its 30th year, this free-for-all brings in performers from the neighborhood, across the state, and groups from the Pacific Northwest. With free entry for performers and revelers alike, the conga lines thread through the crowd and the dancing flows into the streets. Impromptu jam sessions and collaborations continue into the night as music of all flavors spills into the local nightlife. Juneau's musical festivals highlight the creativity and diversity of artistic expression that thrive through the seasons. Spring is the time to perform, dance and be carried away with the music. In Juneau, there's music for all kinds -- and tastes to keep your ears pleased and your feet moving until the days are once again longer than the nights. Related Links Inside The Next Issue: Outdoor Recreation Fish On At The Derby
Running through Juneau all year with a peak run from May to July, the chinook--or king salmon-- is Alaska's state fish. This sport fish provides gourmet meals and rigorous entertainment each year as fishers gather on rocky shores and in boats to compete in the annual Spring King Derby. The month-long derby sets itself apart from the rest with shore fishing, festivities and competitions ranging from the eldest veteran to weigh in to the largest weigh-in by a child. King salmon, the largest and least abundant of the salmon species, average 36" and weigh around 30 pounds. Last year's Spring King Derby winner brought in a 42.3-pound king. The record chinook, caught near Petersburg, weighed in at 126 pounds, but some reports claim landing a 135-pound king salmon. From skiff to yacht -- charter a boat or rent one to captain, and land a king worth writing home about. Most charters include tackle, bait and cleaning for full or half-day adventures. Angle for the derby prizes compiled of cash, trips, gear and more with a breathtaking land of mountains, rainforest and sea converging around you. Beginning May 1, no shore will be clear, no troller stagnant and no king salmon less than coveted as the competition begins. Annually sponsored by the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the Spring King Derby brings the community out to fish for a cause. By purchasing an entry ticket, everyone wins by supporting a scholarship fund while having a sporting good time. Related Links Inside The Next Issue:
|
Email this to a friend Comments/Suggestions |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Juneau's Colorful Past Fish Wheels Spin Through Time
Early Alaskans used fish wheels to assure there would be enough salmon to last through the winter, feeding both the communities and their dog teams. With a rate of three to five revolutions per minute and such effective catches, some Northwest states banned these giant fishing machines. With a permit, Alaskan subsistence fishers still run fish wheels, visiting them daily to take out the salmon, clean and dry them as a winter staple. Mounted on floats and anchored to the river bottom, fish wheels turn by the force of the current. Fences or walls of rock built up under the water funnel salmon into the revolving baskets. Radiating off of the axle, baskets on the end of each paddle-like spoke rotate through the water and churn up salmon, dumping them into tanks or baskets. While the original purpose of these wheels was catching salmon, some new wheels have been designed to drop salmon into live boxes to be weighed and studied. Fish wheels have become a way to monitor salmon populations as well as to hold salmon long enough to collect eggs and milt.
|
 |
|
|
|