Got Rhubarb?

We interrupt this program for an advertisement for…free rhubarb!

We have been blessed with an abundant patch of rhubarb that is thriving despite the chickweed invasion in our vegetable garden. And I haven’t harvested any of it.

So rather than waste this amazing produce, I’d like to give it away to anyone in the area in need of some rhubarb.

Would you like some? Or do you know someone who would?

If so, please email me via this blog with your contact information so we can arrange having you stop by and taking whatever you can use. And maybe I might get the courage up to use some myself. Someone has already provided me with several tasty recipes. Maybe having someone passionate about rhubarb stop by is just what I need to get motivated!

We now resume our regularly scheduled program.

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Scene from Eagle

On my way into Glenallen recently, I stopped off at Jeannie’s Java for a latte and breakfast burrito. Jeannie’s daughter and I began chatting and when she heard I was coming from Tok, she mentioned that a young man was trying to get to Tok to try to hitch a flight to Eagle. He was a photographer on assigment, and she asked if I’d speak with him. Sure, I said, and that’s how I met Ross McDermott.

Ross was on assignment to shoot photographs of the devastation in Eagle. One story was a Studio 360 radio piece by his friend Jesse Dukes and the other an article for Mother Jones magazine by Ted Genoways of the Virginia Quarterly Review (both should be out end of June).

I told Ross that I’d be heading back to Tok in the afternoon, then gave him a slew of ideas and people’s names in Tok who I thought could help him in his quest to get to Eagle. We exchanged contact information, and on my way home, I learned that he was able to hitchhike to Tok about half hour after he and I spoke.

Ross got back in touch recently to say he did get to Eagle by hitchhiking from Tok, and was able to take photos. He was kind enough to send me a bunch of them to choose one for this blog. Below is the one I picked that I thought really reflected both the physical and emotional impact of the disaster.

Take a look at Ross’s professional site and also his American Festivals Project. He’s a very talented guy. I hope his images help the world see what happened up here.

You can also check out Eagle Flood Info.

photo used with permission from Ross Dermott

Have you been to Eagle? Please share stories, images and any advice on how we can help our neighbors.

Tok/Tanacross Imagination Library Event This Saturday

Bring your young ones to the park Saturday, June 27 between 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. for a Summer Solstice themed event with free (gently used) books, art activities, and other fun.

You’ll also be able to

Sign up your under-5 year olds for the Tok/Tanacross Imagination Library program to receive a free age-appropriate book every month in the mail; and

Donate your gently used, toddler-appropriate books that you don’t need any more for distribution to children in the community.

For more information: Carrie Beeman at 883-8080

Special thanks to our sponsors: Tok Community Clinic, Inc., Tok Community Umbrella Corporation, Best Beginnings, Rasmuson Foundation, ConocoPhillips, and Conversify.net.

And if you’d like to hang up a flyer in your establishment, feel free to print this one out! (PDF format)

flyer-IL-solstice

Acoustic Accents – Folk Music Show Coming from Tok

If you dig deep enough, you will find amazing little nuggets of culture and talent in our own backyard here in Tok, Alaska. Here’s a little email inteview I conducted with Bud Johnson of Acoustic Accents folk music radio show.

What is Acoustic Accents?

ACOUSTIC ACCENTS is a syndicated program taped at Spin Monkey Productions in Tok, Alaska and broadcast weekly in Alaska on KNBA-FM Anchorage, KBRW FM Barrow, KYUK Bethel, KUAC-FM Fairbanks, KIYU Galena, Nome Public Radio, KTNA-FM Talkeetna, and KCHU Valdez. The show is also transmitted via translators and repeater stations across Interior Alaska. Available live on the web at kuac.org, knba.org, and ktna.org.

On with the interview…

Me: When/where did you start Acoustic Accents?

Bud: Acoustic Accents was started in 1993 in Galena, AK at the small but vital community radio station KIYU.

Me: What inspired you to start it?

Bud: I started a contemporary jazz program called “Jazz etc” around 1991 that ran on KIYU Sunday nights and lasted 3 hours. Spending 3 to 4 hours at the station each week gave me lots of time to explore the station library and it wasn’t long before I discovered this group of contemporary folk musicians that really blew me a way. Most were on the now defunct Windham Hill label and many were on Rounder Records. I started to play a few tracks from these artists on my jazz show but they really didn’t work in that format so I decided to cut the jazz show down to 2 hours and lead in with 1 hour acoustic oriented show that featured folk, bluegrass, and other roots music. I called it Acoustic Accents and when I moved to Tok in 1998 I put Jazz Etc to rest for good and focused all my energy on the new show.

Me: What equipment did you use when you first started the show and what is different today?

Bud: I did my show live in the studio until 1998 when KUAC in Fairbanks became the first station to air a prerecorded version of my show. At that time I had set up a studio at my house that was very much like the one at the radio station with a mike, mixing board, and CD players. I recorded my show “live” to DAT tape and send the tape to KUAC. Every few months they’d send a box of old shows back so I could reuse the DAT cassettes which were pretty expensive. Today I still use the mike and mixing board but everything is recorded separately on the computer and then “assembled” using a software program called Sound Forge. I burn the show to CD’s which are mailed twice a month to the various stations that carry the show.

Me: What have been some of the most memorable moments running your show?

Bud: After I moved back to the road system in 1998 I started to record interview segments and performances at my studio in Tok and while traveling to festivals and conferences. To date, I have recorded about 60 interviews and along the way met some amazing people. Some of the more memorable include an interview I did with Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer in 2001, a little more than a year before Dave died from a massive heart attack (Dave was one month older than me). I also interviewed a brilliant Canadian artist named Colin Linden right after he had worked with the Coen brothers on “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and had a cameo role in their movie “Intolerable Cruelty”. Now he had some good stories! There have been many, many more great moments but suffice to say it has been a great pleasure to get to know personally so many of the artists that I admire and feature on the show.

Me: What are some of the challenges running the show?

Bud: Time, time, time!! It’s a labor of love and a major time commitment. I presently have seven stations that carry the show and it airs almost everyday of the week. To insure that shows arrive in time to air (via the postal service), I have to stay 2 – 4 weeks ahead in my programming. It can be a real juggling act with family commitments and responsibilities at work. Trying to fit in a vacation means I may be programming Christmas holiday music in October!

Me: Where can people hear your show?

Bud: My show can be heard across much of the state on nine stations and 11 translator stations and is also available via the web from four stations that stream. You can find a listing of times and stations on my web site at acousticaccents.net/index_files/onyourradiodial.htm

Me: If someone wants to hear your show at their local station, how do they get it to happen?

Bud: Contact the program director or station manager at their station and say “WE WANT ACOUSTIC ACCENTS!!”. Then give them my email address (budATacousticacents.net) or send them to my web site.

Me: What do you hope people get out of your show?

Bud: I hope people get the same sense of discovery and excitement that I get when I hear a new artist for the first time that really moves me. The ultimate compliment is when someone hears an artist for the first time on my show and then buys their recordings or attends one of their concerts. Then I feel I have provided a great service to both the artist and the listener.

Who else would you like to hear from  in Tok? I’ll try to get an interview!

Wildflowers in Tok

I’ve been taking photos of wildflowers as we’ve walked or biked around Tok. Lucky for me, I also have a husband who can name wildflowers in his sleep – it’s like having a walking, talking flora encyclopedia with me at all times.

Here are just a few flowers we’ve seen:

Wild Rose

Lupine

White Milk Vetch

Jacob’s Ladder with an ALASKA dandelion

Jacob’s Ladder

Wild Pea

Bluebells

Have any photos of Alaska wildflowers that you’ve taken? Share links to them here!

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Thai Food in Tok

Image by Ya-Yin via Flickr

I just ordered take out from Jen’s Thai Food, a new local caterer in town. And it was fantastic! Even my husband, who is not a big fan of spicy food, thoroughly enjoyed Jen’s Pad Thai, fried rice and fresh rolls as did our toddler.

This is what I really love about Tok – there are these “hidden” and unexpected things that happen here. A concert-quality Steinway. An eclectic and very talented writers group. A book club focused on books about outdoors, nature, wildlife. Interesting and kind people. These nuggets that you really have to pay attention to find.

The business is a little more than a week old, and the response has been tremendous. What a neat enterprise in our own back yard!

If you’d like to order some delicious, freshly-prepared Thai food, call up Jen’s at 883-3362.

Needing a Babysitter in Tok

Well, all good things must come to an end, or so they say (whoever they are). Our wonderful full-time babysitter is moving so we have to find a new sitter by mid-June. So I’m putting the word out here (already discussed with said wonderful sitter) to see if anyone has any ideas.

My preference is in-home sitter in our home. This is the arrangement we had early on with our daughter before she was in full-time daycare in Anchorage. My work hours are 8am to 4pm so those hours are ideal but anything in between is also workable.

Second choice is in someone else’s home but they must have excellent references. We’ve had a few misses in that department so would be very careful about that.

Basic duties/responsibilities for caring for our almost 3-year old girl:

- attention, care and play (she loves books, jigsaw puzzles, coloring and painting, music and dancing, building castles with block, playing with dolls, playing make believe, and anything outdoors, especially if it involves dirt. Please no texting while watching her. Please do not ignore her – she thrives on interaction.

- some educational play (she knows her alphabet and numbers, colors and shapes, and is receptive to learning words and other things). Please no television but very limited viewing of “educational” videos okay (we can supply if needed).

- mealtime and naptime (If here, we’ve got plenty to prepare and if at someone else’s home, we can pack a lunch for her and she naps at least an hour in the afternoons. Our preference is very limited sugar.)

- potty training (we’re trying to be consistent with her but she needs very rigid structure to stay on track).

She’s a fun and funny kid and should be pretty easy to watch. She plays pretty well with others but may need a time out now and then.

We’re just looking for someone who will treat her like one of their own which means someone who has good values and a kind heart.

We pay the going rate but if someone is willing to sit in our home, we’ll pay extra. We’re amenable to someone with a child bringing them here to care for both children (but in that case, we wouldn’t pay extra).

Thanks for passing the word along.

P.S. Our babysitter said her home is for sale. Gorgeous home. Click to see photos/description here.