Community

Downtown Juneau’s annual Gallery Walk is Friday evening.

More than 50 businesses and organizations will feature art exhibits, activities, live performances and holiday cheer.

One of those organizations is local conservation nonprofit Southeast Alaska Land Trust, also called SEALT. This gallery walk will be the second year of their “Conservation Art Show” featuring local Juneau artists Teri Gardner Robus, Patrick Ripp and others sharing work that was created on conserved lands in Southeast Alaska. 

Bailey Williams is the outreach and development specialist at SEALT. She spoke about the upcoming event and the meaning behind it during KTOO’s Juneau Afternoon on Tuesday. 

“This project came about kind of very organically, because there are so many amazing artists in this town, it was probably inevitable that our paths would cross with some of them,” she said. “We had this idea of local talent going out onto our conserved sites and painting what they saw.”

Other artists will be featured at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum, like Bo Anderson and Kathleen Harper. Their joint show, “Art Scraps”, opens this Friday with a reception at 4:30 p.m. It features art created using a variety of upcycled, recycled and reused materials. 

The couple also spoke about their upcoming show during Juneau Afternoon on Tuesday. Harper said she’s always had a knack for making art out of odd objects and is excited to showcase it during the exhibition. 

“I’ve always been very drawn to mixed media since forever,” she said. “Even in college, I was always like, ‘I’m going to take all of these weird screws that I found in a scrap heap and turn them into a cathedral by gluing them together.’”

This Gallery Walk will also represent the last for some businesses, including Cordova’s, Sketch Studio and Ben Franklin. Front Street will become pedestrian-only starting at 3 p.m. and a Gallery Walk shuttle will run from 4 to 8 p.m. 

Parking during the busy downtown event is available at the Juneau Arts & Culture Center, the Driftwood Lodge lot and the Juneau District Heating lot. 

The city says it will not be enforcing paid parking downtown after 3 p.m. on Friday. Free parking will be offered at city-owned parking garages and lots, which are the Shopper’s Lot, the North Franklin Lot, the Downtown Transportation Center Garage, the Marine Parking Garage, the Whittier Lot and the South Franklin Docks & Harbors lots.

More information about the events and artists is available on the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council website.

Correction: The photo caption has been updated to reflect that Gallery Walk is a collaborative effort between the  Juneau Arts & Humanities Council and Downtown Business Association.

Susan Sookram sat in the hot tub of the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Fitness Center. She brought her book to settle into — an anthology containing the first three Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy books — with the whole tub to herself.

But up until recently, this post-workout ritual was put on pause.

“I think I did come a little bit less without that motivating thought of taking a relaxing dip afterwards,” Sookram said.

Since July, the hot tub in Bethel’s fitness center had been out of commission. There was an issue with its pump. And, like with any beloved relative – people have been calling, sending Facebook messages, and stopping by in person for months to ask if it was getting better.

Bethel Parks and Recreation Department staff said that they even got a request from a community member to publicly share the tracking information on the missing part so that everyone could keep tabs on it. Then, after four months, it was finally fixed.

“It was sort of to very quiet fanfare, and I felt like it deserved more of a community-wide announcement and/or celebration,” Sookram said.

David Chakuchin, the facilities manager at the fitness center, said that he didn’t know the hot tub outage would be that big of a deal.

“It was kind of surprising how people would be, like, getting upset,” Chakuchin said. “Like, chill. It’s just a hot tub.”

In the months since the hot tub has been down, the rumors have flown around town about what had gone wrong. KYUK Multimedia Department’s MaryCait Dolan asked Chakuchin about some of them during our interview.

“Wasn’t it also, like, once the part came in, there had to be someone to, like, crawl into the inner workings of the hot tub too?” Dolan asked. “I don’t know where I heard that.”

Chakuchin smiled.

“No, no one had to crawl,” Chakuchin said, laughing.

In actuality, what happened is a classic tale in rural Alaska. The broken part first had to be identified and its nearly $10,000 price tag paid for. Then it had to be shipped to Bethel from the lower 48, which takes much longer than normal shipping times. And then there were bigger problems to solve.

“Typhoon Halong hit, and then that, like, just delayed it another, like, two or three weeks, maybe,” Chakuchin said.

This is the first time in the pool’s 11 year history that it has needed major maintenance.

“In the future, I don’t think it’s going to be that hard because we kind of learned a lot of lessons,” Chakuchin said.

Chakuchin said that it was surprising to hear how much people cared about the hot tub.

Mac Nowicki is a hot tub regular and admitted that he fell into the party of pushier hot tub inquirers.

“I did for, I don’t know, like two months, [a] pilgrimage asking,” Nowicki said. “They displayed little piece of paper which says ‘it’s on the way’. Then they display another piece of paper which says ‘we should fix it,’ and then — finally.”

Now on the other side, Nowicki said that it’s been nice to have the space for his muscles and spine to relax. He likes to come at least twice a week.

Now that it’s back open, the hot tub and greater fitness center have been busy. After Typhoon Halong displaced many residents of coastal communities to Bethel, the fitness center is offering its showers and facilities, including the hot tub, to evacuees.

Chakuchin said that there are a lot of people using the facilities. Bethel is the only community in the Y-K Delta to have a pool and hot tub. Bethel Life Savers also sponsors free snacks and drinks for impacted families.

“There’s a lot, a lot of families come in, and it’s, it’s nice, nice to see it’s more busy for us, but it is nice that they do have a place to come in,” Chakuchin said.

On Friday and Monday nights, community members gather in the hot tub before starting a pickup game of water polo.

“If we’re one or two people shy of two teams, we have recruited people that never played before from just chilling in the hot tub,” Scott said.

That’s water polo regular Sundi Scott. Scott said that the moments before jumping in the pool to play are particularly important.

“It gives us time to socialize before we get really competitive with each other,” Scott said.

Scott said that during the hot tub’s outage, participation numbers suffered. But now there have been enough people for two teams and time to laugh and relax against the jets.

For water polo regular and KYUK’s outgoing news director Sage Smiley, it’s her last night in town before moving away.

“I wanted to spend my last night with the community,” Smiley said. “And the way you do that on a Friday night in Bethel, at least for me, is by playing water polo and sitting in the hot tub.”

The fitness center’s Equitable Access Program offers assistance to make memberships accessible for all families interested. For more information, visit the Y-K Fitness Center’s website.

Pickup water polo is held on Monday and Friday evenings, beginning in the hot tub at 7:00 p.m. before playing between 7:15 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.

Svitlana Bell moved to Juneau from Ukraine after a few years of seasonal work to marry her husband and send more money back to her family. 

Bell cleans houses during the day, but in the evenings, she spends hours quilting. Her quilts are intricate and full of color, with soft, curved lines. She sells her quilts — which are based on works by Ukrainian artist Lyubov Panchenko  — to raise money for supplies for her brother Serhii Matviichuk who’s fighting on the front lines in Ukraine. 

Bell will be showing her quilts at Changing Tides this Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. during Gallery Walk.

Listen:

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

Svitlana Bell: 

I do these numbers for myself to make a plan – what is first piece to another, and how connection. It’s like “eat elephant in small pieces,” you know? Make all together and that is it. It’s just like a Lego, yes.

I’m Svitlana Bell. This design, (by) Lyubov Panchenko, Ukrainian artist and she wasn’t so famous, because in Soviet Union you cannot be different. It was a different time. But she made a lot of beautiful pieces, and right now they are in museum in Kyiv. 

She died in 2022 in Bucha when it was occupied by Russians and she was starving because she cannot leave house. It was very difficult time.  

And when I find here these designs, I contact with that museum, I ask, “Can I try?” because I’m just learning to do quilt – I do only three years. I clean houses, I see a lot of blankets or stuff, and think, “I should try it!”

And Lyubov Panchenko’s design, I asked permission. They approved it and said, “Please try it, do it.” And so I was so happy. So I’m very excited. I hope someday when war finish there, and I will bring some of the best pieces to that museum. 

You know, I have to rush, because I know if I sell, I can send money. If you have somebody who you love, you will do anything.

And, of course, how I can help brother here. He is in — like all Ukraine — in difficult time now, and he do what he has to do. But you always in risk.

I can show you some pictures they make. Here they look very tired. And you see they just came back from front line for couple days to rest.

Drones, mines, shootings that can just with one shot, can destroy all car and everybody in (it). Yeah, it’s very scary. Sometimes, like, we don’t breathe. 

And waiting when he will be back and he say, “I’m safe now.” Because, yeah, war is war.

I think every immigrant – even before war from another countries – made such a huge decision – especially a woman who has kids – this, they are so brave. You need be so brave to be immigrant.

It’s America. It’s a lot of cultures here. It’s make this America beautiful and big and strong.

This is Tongass Voices, a series from KTOO sharing weekly perspectives from the homelands of the Áak’w Kwáan and beyond.

S’eitlin Jamiann Hasselquist has been hosting weekly community soup nights this month in the Traditional Foods and Medicine Kitchen inside Sealaska Heritage Institute’s new Indigenous Science Building in Downtown Juneau. 

She and her team use traditional Lingít foods to make soup for anyone who wants to try some — and maybe bring home the recipe to make themselves.

Last week, the group prepared chili with beef, deer and mountain goat meat. The last soup night is Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. 

Listen:

The following transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.

S’eiltin Jamiann Hasselquist: Can you hear it sizzling? We have so many good things in here. We have g̱uwakaan, deer; jánwu, mountain goat and wasóos, cow.  

And then cow, you know, wasóos. Most of us know cow. But we don’t know that it’s called wasóos in Lingít, and so to share that part is kind of fun. 

Lingít x̱’éináxS’eiltin yoo x̱at duwasáakw. Yéilx̱ x̱at sitee. Deisheetaan áyá x̱at. Yéil S’aag̱i Hít dáx̱. My people come from Angoon and the Raven’s bones house and my Lingít name is S’eitlin. Most people know me by Jamiann. 

I think it’s a really beautiful way to bring community together, especially in a time of need, when SNAP benefits have been delayed or whatever it is, it’s putting our families and members of our community into very stressful positions where they’re having to make choices between food and whatever else is important.

And so being able to provide a night where we can gather together and share a meal and just enjoy each other’s company and show each other like we’re not alone, that we’re here to support each other. I think that’s really important. 

There was a child who was in here, I think last week. They had never tried deer meat before, so it was their first time. They were probably 10 years old, and others. I never tried mountain goat before. You know, I’ve been cooking with it now. It cooks a lot like deer, and it tastes pretty similar to deer, but a little bit different. 

And then cow, you know, wasóos. Most of us know cow. But we don’t know that it’s called wasóos in Lingít, and so to share that part is kind of fun. 

I think it’s really nice to be able to share these out with people in the community, because it should be a part of our regular diet, and because of, you know, harms that have happened, distances between relations of the Earth and us as people, and what we ate in our diets, what we use for plant medicines, there’s  been a huge disruption in that. 

And so to be able to bring it into a dish like chili, to share it with everyone and have them try it, I hear things like, “Oh, I remember tasting this when I was a kid,” or “I’ve never had this in my entire life.” So there’s a wide range of emotions that go along with feeding this traditional food to our people. 

That animal, they had a life going on, and they give that life to be here. And so um I will thank it for its life and its spirit still being with us through this process, and tell it the healing that it’s bringing to the people.

That some people have never tried you before. They don’t know the taste. Some people, it’s going to transport them back to when they were children, 30 years ago. Maybe, you know, some people think that they never were going to try this again. 

It makes me emotional when I’m talking to them, but I also feel it’s very appropriate, and it’s something that has to be done to be able to respect the spirit of whatever that is that’s here, to help us learn, to help us return, to re-remember.

A local Juneau nonprofit is seeing a 20% rise in the number of people requesting Thanksgiving food baskets this year. And there’s still time to request one. 

Juneau’s chapter of St. Vincent de Paul is delivering the baskets this Saturday to anyone who applies, with the help of 60 volunteers. 

Executive Director Jennifer Skinner said the application is simple and people can expect the makings for a full holiday meal.

“And then we give you the works, the quintessential Thanksgiving meal,” she said. “You get a turkey or turkey breast, depending on the size of your family. You get yams, you get a can – canned goods that are like the corn and the green beans – and stuffing and gravy and pie.”

People can apply through the end of Friday on the St. Vincent de Paul website, or by calling or visiting St. Vincent’s offices in the Mendenhall Valley during the day. 

At the beginning of November, people who receive food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also called SNAP or food stamps, didn’t get their benefits on time. After partial payments and further delays, the state says that all SNAP beneficiaries in Alaska have now received their full payments. 

But the chaos led to long lines at local food banks and a scramble as organizations stepped in to help. And food insecurity was rising in Juneau before the SNAP delays, too. 

Skinner said nearly 500 people have already applied for a Thanksgiving meal basket. That’s a 20% increase from last year. But she says the nonprofit is preparing to meet that demand. 

“We won’t say no, right?” she said. “Our mission is we’re here to help everyone, right? So we will serve everyone the best we can.”

Skinner said they have enough volunteers helping with Saturday’s distribution, but St. Vincent’s is still accepting food and monetary donations, as well as holiday cheer: Skinner herself will be dressed as a turkey at Saturday’s distribution. 

On Thanksgiving Day, Resurrection Lutheran Church and the Salvation Army are both hosting Thanksgiving meals.  

Resurrection’s Karen Lawfer said the downtown church will be serving dinner from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and anyone who wants a meal, or some togetherness on the holiday, is welcome. 

“They can come and have a meal and be with friends, meet new friends, and just be able to be a part of a community,” she said.

Lawfer said that the community element is often just as important as the food itself, especially on holidays when people may be far away or disconnected from loved ones. Resurrection is still seeking volunteers to help with the meal. 

The Salvation Army will be serving food from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, at the Juneau Yacht Club. Anyone who needs a ride can get one from their thrift store downtown. 

For other food assistance, the Southeast Alaska Food Bank is having a limited distribution the day before Thanksgiving and Christmas, since both holidays fall on their normal distribution day.

After Thanksgiving, efforts for Christmas will be in full effect, too. Both the Salvation Army and St. Vincent de Paul have programs to help put gifts under trees for kids who may not get them otherwise, and there will be food distributions and community meals then, too. 

After nearly a decade serving Juneau a range of fresh food, a beloved local restaurant is closing its doors at the end of the month. Zerelda’s Bistro was started by a couple who love food almost as much as they love each other.

Abby and Jeremy Barnett opened Zerelda’s together in 2016. It’s named after Abby’s grandmother, Zerelda LaForce, who fostered her love of cooking and baking. 

The restaurant started as Abby’s dream, and when the two met online, Jeremy was ready to join her in it. He moved to Alaska for her and the business.

“I met her, and I dropped everything,” he said. “I loved what she was doing. I was like ‘I’ll come help.’” 

“Yeah, and we fell in love,” Abby said. “And we just loved cooking together.”

Zerelda’s originally debuted on the Juneau food scene in a different location in the Mendenhall Valley, with sit-down table service.

A few years after opening, the couple decided to get married, rather spontaneously. They didn’t even close the restaurant. 

“We had whiskey and we ate El Zarape,” Abby said, referring to a local Mexican restaurant. 

“And shots and tacos,” Jeremy said. “Smoked ribs.”

“Then it was hilarious,” Abby said. “We opened for service two hours later.”

Zerelda’s moved to its current location in the Valley during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Barnetts turned what used to be a laundromat into a massive kitchen and bakery, and shifted to a primarily to-go counter. Soon, the demand for their food tripled, and they said it took a few years to find their stride.

But still, they prioritized fresh, local food, and a diverse menu. 

It features decadent comfort food like fried chicken and burgers to veggie-forward noodle bowls and pho.

New specials appear on their chalkboard almost daily, and cookies, pies and croissants line the shelves of a case by the register. Abby Barnett said it’s the product of the people in the back of the house — the diverse cultures and ideas they bring to the menu. 

“We love to see what people’s strengths are,” she said.

Abby Barnett said that rising costs and other fluctuations in the economy have given them the opportunity to be creative with their menu. She said they’re closing for health reasons. 

In 2023, Jeremy had a severe heart attack, and since then, the couple has tried to find ways to step back from the restaurant without closing. But this fall, they decided it was time.

“It was a hard decision,” he said. “It’s emotional. It’s like, this is all we know. It’s what we built together.”

Abby said the hardest part for her is saying goodbye to her staff.

“They’re people that you’ve spent every day with for years and years and years,” she said. “And they’re who kept us going when we didn’t think we could go anymore.”

The Barnetts say they are seeking someone who is willing to take over the restaurant, and have had some promising conversations so far. 

They’re planning to close on Nov. 22.