Almost every product at the Juneau Food Festival and Farmer’s Market has a story. Take Rik Pruett’s smoked octopus. He’s worked for decades to perfect his recipe.
On Friday’s Juneau Afternoon today, Pruett will talk about his “tasty tentacles,” and other homemade products like his toy airplanes.
Also, on this show:
- The Juneau Symphony’s Sunday radio concerts are back
- CBJ Park Rangers wrap up a busy summer.
- Juneau Audubon Society tells the story of how the Rock Pigeon and the European Starling got to Juneau.
Andy Kline hosts Friday’s program. You can catch Juneau Afternoon, Tuesday through Friday, live at 3:00 p.m. on KTOO Juneau 104.3. The rebroadcast airs at 7:00 p.m. on KTOO. You can also listen online at ktoo.org.
For more information about Juneau Afternoon or to schedule time on the show, email juneauafternoon@ktoo.org. Please schedule early. The show is often booked one to two weeks in advance.
Part 1: Alaskan Kraken: A legend that leads to a family of food products.
One question Rik Pruett gets asked a lot: Why did he name his company Alaskan Kraken? First of all, it rhymes and is catchy in slogans like “Get Krakin!” But it also has quite a story behind it. Kraken has Norwegian roots — a word used to describe a legendary sea monster, thought to be a giant octopus that appeared off the coast of Norway. Kraken was also a creature in Greek mythology, able to pull entire ships underwater. And although there are no sea monsters to be found in Pruett’s jars of smoked octopus, his business and its line of products have quite a story.
Part 2: Sundays with the Juneau Symphony returns to the airwaves.
Guests: From the Juneau Symphony: Charlotte Truitt, Executive Director. Christopher Koch, Music Director
When live concerts were suspended during the pandemic, the Juneau Symphony began broadcasting the audio track from its archive of concert recordings on KTOO FM at 1:00 p.m. on Sundays. Now that concerts are back on stage in person, the Symphony is reinventing its radio program, Sundays with the Juneau Symphony, to promote the local music scene.
Part 3: Role of CBJ Park Rangers continue to grow.
Compared to other communities, the City of Borough of Juneau has a lot of park land, extensive trail systems and areas off the road system, which makes CBJ’s parks challenging to maintain.
Dale Gosnell talks about some ongoing projects , as well as collaboration with organizations like Trail Mix.
He also talks about efforts during the summer months to help provide safe camping space for those who are struggling with homelessness.
Part 4: Juneau Audubon Society: Rock Pigeons and European Starlings are not Native to Juneau
Guests: Brenda Wright, Programs Manager, Juneau Audubon Society. 
This week the Juneau Audubon Society spotlights two birds that are common to Juneau, the Rock Pigeon and the European Starling. Given that the birds are seen almost everywhere in Juneau, many are surprised to learn that they are not native to the region.
