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Happy birthday, Alaska; Celebrating the sea and Living wild in Haines
Welcome to the Alaska Travel Industry Association (AlaskaTIA) Travel News Bulletin. AlaskaTIA sends this out periodically to keep media up-to-date on Alaska tourism and travel news. Media are invited to call (800) 327-9372 or visit www.TravelAlaska.com/media for more information.
In this May Travel News Bulletin, you will find:
1. Happy birthday, Alaska!
2. Celebrating the sea
3. Living wild in Haines
1.Happy birthday, Alaska!
On June 30, 1958, the Anchorage Daily Times' headline read, "We're In." The U.S. Senate had sent the Alaska Statehood Act to President Eisenhower for his stamp of approval. Fast forward 50 years, and Alaska is preparing for the biggest celebration the state has seen since. Fairbanks will kick off events with a weeklong festival, including live concerts by Elton John and Trace Adkins, special guests and a barbeque, starting Friday, May 23 (www.explorefairbanks.com). Alaska's capital city will follow with a special Juneau Symphony performance of "The Alaska Symphony" on June 14 (www.traveljuneau.com). Anchorage will celebrate "We're In" weekend from June 28-30 (www.anchorage.net/50). The three days commemorating Congress' passage of the bill will include live concerts, anniversary-themed theatrical productions, an air show and a citywide festival. And other cities, such as Haines and Valdez, will begin celebrating on the 4th of July (www.haines.ak.us, www.valdezalaska.org). Haines remembers Fort William H. Seward, the first permanent Army post in the Alaska territory, on July 5 and 6. But these events are just the tip of the iceberg; and travelers can expect to party in the 49th state well through 2009.
For more information about visiting Alaska, check out www.travelalaska.com.
Media Information
Contact: Meghan Aftosmis, Alaska Travel Industry Association
Phone: (212) 404-1301
E-mail: meghana@bernholzandgraham.com
URL: www.travelalaska.com/media
2. Celebrating the sea
The state isn't the only entity celebrating its birthday in Alaska this year. May marks the 10th anniversary of one of Alaska's most engaging hands-on learning centers, the Alaska SeaLife Center. Partially funded by money from the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Settlement Fund, the Alaska SeaLife Center has been providing care for sick and injured marine animals and helping scientists research marine animal populations and environmental changes ever since. The center, located in the seaside town of Seward, also provides public educational programs, making it a family-friendly destination for travelers. The center offers puffin and octopus encounter tours, marine mammal and cephalopod family programs, and even twilight tours. But kids aren't the only ones gushing over the harbor seals or captivated by the immersive Pacific salmon exhibit installed just last year. For more information about visiting the Alaska SeaLife Center, go to www.alaskasealife.org.
Media information
Contact: Dawn Kimberlin, Alaska SeaLife Center
Phone: (907) 224-6311
E-mail: dawn_kimberlin@alaskasealife.org
URL: www.alaskasealife.org
3. Living wild in Haines
The best-kept secret of Haines, Alaska, is that it is home to more than 50 local artists, and more per capita than any other small town in America. Steve Kroschel is one of those artists, an award-winning filmmaker whose latest movie, "The Beautiful Truth," will be shown at Cannes Film Festival and then debut in New York and Los Angeles in September. This fall, Kroschel (and Haines) can be seen on the big screen as he helps his son uncover the relationship between the wilderness, wildlife and his health. While the younger Kroschel was a skeptic, the community of Haines already embraces this form of therapy. Just ask the mayor, the organic food store employee, the electrician and all those other artists featured in the film; they live in Haines for a reason — and it may just be because of the beautiful scenery. Travelers to Haines are more likely to recognize Kroschel as the owner of a year-round live animal wildlife center, home to lynx, wolves, caribou, foxes, moose and, most recently, the first baby wolverines born in captivity in North America this year. To visit Kroschel's Wildlife Center or learn more about Haines, visit www.haines.ak.us.
Media Information
Contact: Lori Stepansky, Haines Convention and Visitors Bureau
Phone: (907) 766-2234
E-mail: lstepansky@haines.ak.us
URL: www.haines.ak.us
Contact: Steve Kroschel
Phone: (907) 767-5464
E-mail: kroschelfilms@apt.alaska.net
URL: www.kroschelfilms.com
Alaska Travel
Industry Association
2600 Cordova St. Ste. 201
Anchorage, AK 99503-2745
P. (800) 327-9372
F. (800) 276-1042
E. ATIAmedia@gci.net »