Feature Articles

The Sitka Chamber of Commerce, led by Director Rachel Roy and Communications Specialist Victoria Siegel (plus a 9-member Chamber Board of Directors) has been actively supporting three initiatives designed to enhance quality life and business in Sitka.

Financial education isn’t just about managing money—it’s about helping our communities thrive.

The general message we’ve been hearing from gardeners around town and around the region is that it’s been slow growing this year. That’s certainly been the case with my own little vegetable patch at home. My first seeding of carrots never did anything at all, and the second – once I gave up on the first – took weeks to show signs of life.

In September 2023, Sitkans Marcel and Connie LaPerriere commissioned Daniel Graham, a luthier and art professor at Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky, to make a violin out of wood from Sitka, Alaska, for the Sitka Music Festival.

It is mid-April and we are meeting in a room with kids’ art projects papering the walls. “We always want to offer art and music, as part of our services, wherever we are,” says Heather Meuret, Executive Director of Youth Advocates of Sitka (YAS).

Growing a community garden from scratch is no small feat, especially if you first have to look around for a suitable location. That can take some time, as we can attest.

Sitkans Against Family Violence started in 1976 as a Crisis Line for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, followed in 1982 by the opening of the first SAFV Shelter on Pioneer Home grounds. The former “nurses’ quarters” could shelter up to 15 women and children.

Dr. Lauren Wild was in middle school when she first came to WhaleFest. Like many Sitka kids, she’d spent her childhood exploring tidepools and playing in the stream by her house, yet she didn’t think of herself as a scientist.

What does Indigenous People’s Day mean to you? The answers are as varied – and sometimes as surprising – as the people who gave them.

Rooted in the Tongass National Forest, Tongass Federal Credit Union is celebrating 60 years Southeast Strong! This year, we grew even stronger when we joined together with ALPS Federal Credit Union.

As a high school student, I think that dual enrollment classes through UAS are a fantastic way to get a head start on college.

On June 22nd, I sat down with Michele Friedman to talk about the July 1st event Brave Heart Bowls.

Sitka WhaleFest brings together science education and research for a weekend-long celebration of marine life.

Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a special day because it celebrates the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples across the United States.

Affordable housing is in short supply across the U.S., and Sitka is no exception. Luckily, local organizations – including Baranof Island Housing Authority (BIHA) and Sitka Community Land Trust (SCLT) – are stepping up to tackle this issue.

The Sitka Food Co-op currently provides food to over 250 households and businesses — a far cry from its small-scale beginnings. The co-op seed was planted in May 2010, when founder Ann Betty began ordering organic food in bulk from outside Sitka, averaging lower prices than were available at local groceries.

Lucy Poulson has been close to Sitka Fine Arts Camp her whole life. A lifelong Sitkan, she attended the camp from kindergarten through 12th grade; now, as a senior at Harvard, she’s returning to SFAC for the summer as its Development Assistant.

When asked how she got her distinctive name, Sitka PorchFest organizer Dixon Elegant had the first of many interesting stories to tell.