Rhonda McBride

Wednesday, June 8, 2022: How Celebration sparked a cultural renaissance. Juneau Symphony’s Night at the Oscars. Theater Alaska’s Midsummer Night’s Dream.

  The first Celebration drew only a few hundred people back in 1982, mostly elders. Today, this gathering brings more than 2,000 dancers and thousands of others to Juneau to celebrate the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. On this Wednesday’s Juneau Afternoon, a look at an event that sparked a cultural renaissance.…

Part 1: Celebration and collective memory.

Guests: Ed Thomas, President Emeritus, Tlingit and Haida Central Council. Barbara Blake, Alaska Native Policy Director, First Alaskans Institute. Joaqlin Estus, National Correspondent, Indian Country Today.
Celebration has a 40-year history of not only bringing the Lingít, Haida and Tsimshian peoples together but also inspiring collective cultural healing.

Part 2: Juneau Symphony brings Hollywood magic to its weekend concerts.

Guests: Charlotte Truitt, Executive Director of the Juneau Symphony. Troy Quinn, guest conductor.
  The Juneau Symphony’s Night at the Oscars features popular movie themes.  

Part 3: Theater Alaska’s Midsummer Night’s Dream: Shakespeare under the sky.

Guests: Flordelino Langundino, Theater Alaska Artistic Director. Enrique Bravo, actor.
  Shakespeare, the bard, probably would have approved of Theater Alaska’s outdoor stage for his Midsummer Night’s Dream — a comedy with love, fairies and fantasy, as well as a lot of confusion and creative mischief.  

Tuesday, June 7, 2022: 2022 Celebration overview with Rosita Worl. Áak’w Rock Side Stage. Theater Alaska Native writer’s workshop.

  Dancers carrying drums and regalia are getting off airplanes and ferries. Hotels are filling-up. And Centennial Hall will soon come alive with the sights and sounds of Celebration. On this Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, Rosita Worl, president of the Sealaska Heritage Institute, will talk about the 40th anniversary of this gathering of Southeast Alaska Natives…

Part 1: Reflections on Celebration: Past, present and future from Rosita Worl.

Guests: Rosita Worl, President of the Sealaska Heritage Institute.
  Rosita Worl helped to organize the first Celebration in 1982, a festival to honor Lingít, Haida and Tsimshian cultures. She says the 1982 gathering only had about 200 people, mostly elders. But today, Celebration draws more than 5,000 people and 2,000 dancers, with young people and children in the sea of faces.

Part 2: Áak’w Rock finds a “side” stage at Celebration: Fundraiser for Indigenous music festival.

Guests: Stephen Qacung Blanchett, Àak’w Rock festival organizer and performer.
  Àak’w Rock organizers are hoping to tap into support from this year’s Celebration-goers for their 2023 Indigenous music festival. The group is raising money at its Àak’w Rock Side Stage event, with four nights of “pay what you can” performances at the Crystal Saloon, starting Wednesday, June 8th. They include Indigenous artists Stephen Qacung…

Part 3: Theater Alaska Groundwork Writer’s Workshop: No experience required.

Guests: Frank Henry Kaash Katasse, writer, actor, director.
Frank Katasse says he didn’t start out as a playwright. He wanted to be an actor but says once he tried it,  the feeling of  watching actors bring his lines to life, was magic. Now he’s on a mission to make the craft of writing for theater accessible. His class will be held on Friday,…

Friday, June 3, 2022: Juneau Artists Gallery features work of Rick Kauzlarich. Kids behind the camera at the State Museum. SEAGLA shows film, “Blue Ticket.” Cancer Connection observes National Cancer Day.

  Instead of canvas, paint and brush, a Juneau man has turned to his tablet to create art. On this Friday’s Juneau Afternoon, Rick Kauzlarich will talk about his exhibit this month at the Juneau Artists Gallery. Also in this program: Another First Friday event at the State Museum, a screening of mini-documentaries, produced by…

Part 1: Why Rick Kauzlarich paints with his iPad.

Guests: Rick Kauzlarich, June’s Featured Artist at the Juneau Artists Gallery Gallery
Rick Kauzlarich is one of the newest members of the Juneau Artists Gallery, a cooperative run by a group of local artists. Rick has worked using more traditional tools of the trade — oils and watercolors — but these days he uses his iPad as his canvas. Instead of a paintbrush, he uses his stylus…

Part 2: State Museum setting for student video project.

Guests: Marie Acemah, Director, See Stories. Anika Linstid, 7th Grader, workshop participant. Ethan Anderson, 8th Grader, workshop participant.
  A four-day video workshop at the Alaska State Museum gave students a chance to produce mini-documentaries using footage gathered at the museum. Their theme was fisheries, tied into the museum’s current Mug Up cannery exhibit. The project was funded by the City and Borough of Juneau and the Alaska State Libraries, Archives and Museum.

Part 3: Blue Ticket , a historical romance set in Juneau, tells the story of discrimination against gay men in the 1960’s

Guests: Maureen “Mo” Longworth
The film. Blue Ticket,  tells the story of how gay men were secretly removed from Juneau in the 1960’s. Blue Ticket started out as a play, written by Maureen Longworth. It was later recorded and turned into a movie. As part of Pride Month, the Southeast Alaska LGBTQ+ Alliance, or SEAGLA, will offer three showings…

Part 4: Cancer Connection celebrates survivors and champions in the battle against cancer.

Guests: Emily Ricci, cancer survivor and president of Cancer Connection.
  Marine Park will be a gathering place this Sunday for cancer survivors, who are invited to take part in an annual Celebration of Life Walk. Cancer Connection will also honor community members for their support of programs that help people cope with cancer.    

Part 5: Marie Drake Planetarium has images from James Webb telescope.

Guests: Steve Kocsis, volunteer at Marie Drake Planetarium.
Steve Kocsis, a Juneau astronomy enthusiast, say the Marie Drake Planetarium has access to images from the James Webb space telescope, launched in December, 2021.

Thursday, June 2, 2022: Black Music Appreciation Month: Kenneth Monts looks back on a lifetime of music.

President Joe Biden has declared the month of June 2022 as Black Music Appreciation month. In a proclammation he wrote: “During Black Music Appreciation Month, we honor Black musicians, singers, and contributors to the music industry — past and present — whose innovative talents unite us in joy as much as in sorrow and healing.  We…

Part 1: Kenneth Monts reflects: Growing up with Stevie, Aretha and James.

Guests: Kenneth Months, Black history buff.
  When James Brown sang, “Say it loud. I’m Black and I’m proud,” those were radical words in the turbulent 1960’s. But to Kenneth Monts, they were words he needed to hear and stayed with him for a lifetime. In this interview with his niece, Kelli Patterson, Monts talks about how Brown and other Black…

Wednesday, June 1, 2022: Church provides children a hot meal and summer fun. Juneau-Douglas City Museum summer tours. First Friday Round-Up from the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council. Garden Talk with Ed Buyarski.

For ten years, the Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church has provided free hot lunches to kids in the summer. The church also offers a day camp, a new program that was introduced last year. On Juneau Afternoon, a look at how the church tries to meet the needs of Juneau children between summer and…

Part 1: Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church: Bridging the gaps to meet children’s needs during summer

Guests: Hannah Harvey and Rosemary Kiessling, Shepherd of the Valley Lutheran Church summer lunch and day camp program.
    A summer safety net program to make sure Juneau children don’t go hungry and have activities to enjoy.    

Part 2: Summer adventures at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum.

Guests: Elissa Borges, Curator of Public Programs. Bonita Nelson, volunteer.
From walking tours to a look behind the scenes, there are lots of opportunities for exploration at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum this month.

Part 3: Juneau arts scene: First Friday round-up on June 3rd.

Guests: Kathleen Harper, Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.
From a screening of documentaries produced by kids at the State Museum, to ceramics at Coppa, to a juried art show at the Sealaska Heritage Institute, there’s lots to take at this month’s First Friday.  

Tuesday, May 31, 2022: Rosita Worl on indigenizing downtown Juneau. A conversation with Chilkat weaver Lily Hope.  

  As dancers and culture bearers stream onto the streets of downtown Juneau for Celebration this year, things will look very different from the last gathering in 2018 — all part of Rosita Worl’s vision for turning Juneau into a Northwest Coast capital for indigenous art. On this Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, the head of the…

Part 1: Restoring Native identity to Lingít Aaní.

Guests: Rosita Worl, President of Sealaska Heritage Institute.
How Sealaska Heritage Institute is changing the face of downtown Juneau by reclaiming Lingít Aaní, a journey that began with Celebration back in the 1980’s and continues today with the grand opening of SHI’s new arts campus. SHI President Rosita Worl says the campus will be dedicated at Celebration this year, a time when Juneau…

Part 2: Lily Hope, artist and dream weaver.

Guests: Lily Hope, owner of Wooshkindein Da.àat-Lily Hope Weaver Studio.
How Chilkat weaver Lily Hope uses mountain goat wool and cedar bark to spin a vision of the future. (Please note: This interview originally aired on March 31, 2022. )

Friday, May 27, 2022: Lindy Ryan’s new novel: Throw Me to the Wolves. An Urban Retreat for writers and yoga enthusiasts. League of Women Voters workshop on running for public office. Alaska Public Garden Day.

Black magic, werewolves, murder and love. That’s Lindy Ryan’s latest novel in a nutshell. Ryan is a prolific Juneau writer, who pens books in two different genres – romance and horror. On this Friday’s Juneau Afternoon, she talks about how her latest book, Throw Me to the Wolves, is a mix of both. And speaking…

Part 1: Throw Me to the Wolves, the first of a supernatural mystery series.

Guests: Lindy Ryan, romance and horror writer.
Lindy Ryan collaborated with a fellow writer and editor, Christopher Brooks, to write Throw me to the Wolves, Together they weave a tale about witches and werewolves,  and a love affair between a she-werewolf and a homicide detective. In short, a book in which horror story-meets romance — meets murder mystery.

Part 2: League of Women Voters workshop focuses on local elections.

Guests: Peggy Cowan, League of Women Voters Juneau, Board Member. Kristin Bartlett, Chief of Staff, Juneau School District,
  The League of Women Voters, in partnership with the City and Borough of Juneau and the Juneau School District, is offering a  workshop on how to run for local office. The primary focus of this free, half-day session is on assembly and school board races.    

Part 3: Urban Retreat: Monday nights through the month of June.

Guests: Lindsey Bloom, Owner of Auke Bay Yoga. Bridget Boland, Owner of Modern Muse. Aims Villanueva, Owner of Black Moon Koven and Conjure Kitchen.
  The Urban Retreat, held every Monday night through the month of June,  in the not-so urban Auke Bay, hopes to draw women who love writing, yoga and fine dining.

Part 4: Alaska Public Garden’s Day at Jensen-Olson Arboretum

Guests: Pat White and Pat Harris, Friends of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum.
  What better place than to celebrate Alaska Public Garden’s Day than at the Jensen-Olson Arboretum, one of the crown jewels of Alaska gardens.    

Wednesday, May 25, 2022: Theater Alaska’s Neighborhood Cabaret. Juneau Piano Concert Series.

Live music could be coming to a neighborhood near you. On this Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, a preview of Theater Alaska’s cabaret tour, which brings live music to outdoor venues all over Juneau. Also in this program: Another concert in the Juneau Piano Series on Sunday. And some Garden Talk with Ed Buyarski, who has been…

Part 1: Theater Alaska: Coming to a neighborhood near you.

Guests: Tommy Schoffler, director and performer. Ericka Lee, performer.
What started out as a way to bring live performance to audiences during the pandemic continues this summer, an opportunity to enjoy music and entertainment outdoors.  

Part 2: Juneau Piano Concert Series features pianist Anson Sin.

Guests: Jon Hays, Artistic Director for Juneau Piano Concert Series. Anson Sin, guest pianist.
  Critics describe Anson Sin’s piano playing as intimate yet technically crisp and clean. He is one of several pianists that Jon Hays, artistic director for the Juneau Piano Concert Series,  has identified as an up and coming artist. Sin is currently pursuing his doctorate of Musical Arts in Piano Performance at the University of…

Tuesday, May 24, 2022: Juneau Lyric Opera performs Siegfried. Juneau Youth Sailing classes. Alaskan authors Heather Lende and Leigh Newman.

Four men will take to the stage this Saturday to do something that’s never been done in Juneau before, let alone Alaska. They will perform Act 1. of Wagner’s famous opera, Siegfried.  The Juneau Lyric Opera is presenting a concert version called, “Three Men and a Sword.” On Tuesday’s Juneau Afternoon, a look at why…

Part 1: Juneau Lyric Opera: Three Men and a Sword, a test of musical athleticism

Guests: Dr. David Miller, plays Wotan. David Cangelosi, plays Mime. Shawn Stendevan, prepared English subtitles for the concert.
  Juneau Lyric Opera’s upcoming performance of “Three Men and a Sword” is a one-time only concert. It brings the talents of three singers together and a pianist, including David Cangelosi, who has spent his whole career perfecting the role of Mime. Even though the Juneau performance is a “lite” version of Wagner’s Siegfried, Act…

Part 2: Juneau Youth Sailing teaches lifelong skills.

Guests: Carl Brodersen, board president, Juneau Youth Sailing.
  When Carl Brodersen was a teen, he learned to sail through the Juneau Youth Sailing program. Now he’s passing on his passion for sailing to future generations.      

Part 3: The yin and the yang of two Alaska Writers, Heather Lende and Leigh Newman.

Guests: Heather Lende, Alaska Writer Laureate. Leigh Newman, author of Nobody Gets Out Alive
  Leigh Newman and Heather Lende are both well known Alaska storytellers, yet they seem very different. Newman has a gritty, in-your-face style, while Lende writes with warmth and nuance. Both have one thing in common in their work: a love of authenticity and a passion for telling stories about real Alaskans. Both women talk…

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