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Art Director Stefanie Vigoren art@anchoragepress.com Graphic Designer Stefanie Miller graphics1@anchoragepress.com ContributorsAnne Hillman, Aurora Ford, Bob Grimm, Brendan Joel Kelley, Bridey Heing, Charles J. Tice, Charlie Earnshaw, Chuck Shepherd, Dan Savage, David Fox, Dawnell Smith, Debra McKinney, Elissa Brown, Geoff Kirsch, Hillary Walker, Hu Manoid, Indra Arriaga, James ‘Dr. Fermento’ Roberts, James R. Evans, Jeri Kopet, Jessica Stugelmayer, Jonathan Bower, Joseph Bullington, Julia O’Malley, Katelynn Sortino, Katie Pesznecker, Kerry Tasker, Kirsten Swann, Kris Farmen, Lee Harrington, Libby Petrivelli, Lisa Fox, Lisa Maloney, Logan Stolpe, Matt Iverson, Megan Zlatos, Mike Gordon, Ned Rozell, Owen Tucker, Patrick Dougherty, Peter Dunlap-Shohl, Priscilla Hensley, Rachael Peltier, Rachel Kenshalo, Ray Troll, Rob Brezsny, Shane Castle, Sherry Tomlinson, Silas Campbell, Tarzan Dog, Tom Tomorrow, and Zack Fields. Advertising Account Executives Bridget Mackey | bridget.mackey@anchoragepress.com Karen Edes | karenatthepress@gmail.com Zach Menzel | zach.menzel@anchoragepress.com Cyndi Ramirez | cyndi.ramirez@anchoragepress.com The Anchorage Press is an Anchorage-wide news, features, arts, entertainment, and recreation paper. Established in 1992, the Press is printed weekly on Thursdays and distributed at over 500 locations. Copyright: the Anchorage Press is published by Wick Communications Co. With the exception of syndicated features and cartoons, the contents of the Anchorage Press are copyright 2015 by Anchorage Press. No portion may be reproduced in whole or in part by any means including electronic retrieval systems without the express written permission of the publisher.

GOT TIX?

OPINION: TAKING FLIGHT

EVENT CALENDAR

BY LESLIE KIMIKO WARD

HEART OF ALASKA

It takes a village to make a wish come true

STANDING BY

“Green Dot” bystander intervention training

BY LISA MALONEY

Editorial Intern Nicole Lang nicoleintern5@gmail.com Business Manager Maggie Balean

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

BY MATT IVERSON

AIFF SCREENING AND EVENT VENUES

FIRST FRIDAY

AIFF MOVIE DESCRIPTIONS

BODACIOUS BODEGA

A new beer squeeze for Northern Lights

IT IS WHAT IT IS

Keepin’ it real at Leroy’s

RESTAURANT REVIEW BY ZACK FIELDS

THE STAFF OF LIFE

Give us this day

WE ARE ALL RELATED HERE

Newtok’s climate change nightmare

FILM REVIEW BY INDRA ARRIAGA

BY JAMES “DR. FERMENTO” ROBERTS

GETTING REEL

Film festival director seeks greater outreach, inclusion

ART BY ZAKIYA MCCUMMINGS

13 15

REDEFINING TRADITION

Alaska Native artists Bisco Taylor & William Kozloff

It’s all in the journey

FILM REVIEW BY ZAKIYA MCCUMMINGS

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Children of the Arctic FILM REVIEW BY INDRA ARRIAGA

NEWS OF THE WEIRD BY CHUCK SHEPHERD

FOOD BY SHERRY TOMLINSON

OPEN CELLAR

Sweets for your sweetie WINE REVIEEW BY MATT IVERSON

PRESSING EVENTS

NELLIE CLAY & THE LUCKY DOGS

Love, bourbon, and a little magic

MUSIC PROFILE BY INDRA ARRIAGA

I SAW YOU

SAVAGE LOVE

37 ASTROLOGY BY ROB BREZSNY

AND TO ALL A GOOD LAUGH

Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some) THEATER REVIEW BY LEE HARRINGTON

The sister act

BY DAN SAVAGE

PRESS PIX

Weekend round-up: it’s all about the live music!

CROSSWORDS & COMICS L-imination

ON THE COVER: A Cover “Bind the Blistered Feet” by William Kozloff

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Dear Edito r

Dear Editor,

would prefer I think it’s safe to say that a number of you reading this are people who of your peror ntry state/cou our of invasion actual an fight to “flight,” whether facing is right,” I “flight when time a ever is there sure aren’t you if But that. get I sonal space. fleeing refugee fearful the are encourage you to take a minute and try to imagine you or retic democra your of because ion persecut of a war, poverty, disease, or some kind and ngs, ponderi your to rt jumpsta little a delivers story my ly, ligious beliefs. Hopeful their of less —regard perhaps even a slight increase in the empathy you feel for refugees to Guanrace, color, creed or country of “flight.” I spent a couple of months deployed in a working 1994, in back lifts boat Haitian and Cuban the tanamo Bay, Cuba,during Cuban camp. an Air Force Although that deployment was not what I expected when I signed on as ce I experien ing -increas empathy moving, deeply ing, chaplain, it was an eye-open had. have se otherwi would not s to grandIn Camp Quebec were Cubans of all ages and occupations, from newborn Many ning.” r-in-trai “ministe n Christia a to rs mas, from lawyers to college professo g or drownin either such, and tubes inner rafts, other on ones loved told stories of seeing would they if knew them having limbs bitten off by sharks. While I was there, none of actually make it to real America n soil. ed by But time after time I heard, “even if we must stay here at the Rock—surround better than still is It it. worth was tties—it porta-po to reduced and wire na concerti able maturing what we left behind.” And their flight to freedom generated an unmatch troops went as listened and watched —I Marines and of many young soldiers, Airmen tion apprecia greater much a to hole” shit this in here we’re fault damn their from “it’s inted newly-m of bonus the plus of what those same young troops truly had back home, ced that sea friendships with refugees. Those young—and older—troops who experien ” and a “flee-ers the for empathy greater a both gained indeed had of fleeing refugees greater appreciation for their own blessings. bad guys will Ramp up the refugee screening process? Absolutely! Guarantee that no of China? Wall Great the trumps that wall a employ could we ever sneak in—even if ven at the ways—e many in lives our invades already death tragic But not! ely Absolut hands of those born in the USA. flight over As I pause to ponder the circumstances of those Syrians who have chosen the home and free the of land “the in here living veteran Force Air proud a fight—as I, include doesn’t ng ponderi l of the brave,” pause to ponder—I have to admit my persona state. our or country our “bravely” building a wall around either ial paraWe must continue to be vigilant every day, but not to the point of prejudic noia.

Keith Muschinske Keith Muschinske Anchorage

On the issue of refugees, th e problem is not here , it is over ther e. If the government w ants to help ou t on this issue, then th e government can help out over ther e where the pr oblem is. Bringing refu gees here, do es nothing to help solve th e problem over there.

John Sute r

John Suter Chugiak

Dear Editor, I’m sure the Press dog issue missed several dog-oriented charities out there, but the one I am most surprised about you skipping is strawfordogs.org. Spenard Roadhouse and itinerant musician Orion Donicht (four years Press Picks top-dog bartender!) and his lovely wife Metis Riley have been providing comfort for our outdoor canine friends since 2010. They became a full blown 501(c)3 non-profit in 2012 and have provided 179 bales of hay and 113 shelters for our furry friends. Check them out on Facebook where you can read about Gypsy who some good samaritans helped them humanely trap and who got spayed and vaccinated by a vet and now is living in a good home. SFD is a Pick Click Give charity for any dog lovers considering what to do with their PFD and will be at the Aces games this weekend as part of the team’s Pet Education Weekend.

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TOP PHOTO: Leslie Kimiko Ward. BOTTOM PHOTO: The senbazuru just before the burn. COURTESY PHOTOS

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO MAKE A WISH COME TRUE OPINION BY LESLIE KIMIKO WARD

“J

OHNNY WAS SO HELPLESS the message I’d received to fold them. These when he was a baby. He couldn’t sorts of thoughts, I don’t question, I just act, aamaq, [nurse], a bottle. I had to and so, in October, under the full hunter’s use syringes to feed him. For three months, moon, my family and friends gathered toI had to put the tube on the side of his cheek. gether on our sustainable farmstead in OreHe’d always cough up through his nose and gon’s Willamette Valley. We enjoyed a feast of his ears. The milk would come out, through the food my father and I had raised and harhis nose and his ears.” vested. I laid the cranes out on the table. They This quote, from Sara Prince, of Kotlik, were our guests of honor. People took turns about her adopted son, Johnny Prince, who writing on them, and sharing stories of death was born with a cleft palate, is one of a thou- and connection. After dinner, we all walked sand details that demonstrate the tenacity of through the cool fog, out to the back pasture, her motherly love. I began connecting with where I piled the cranes on top of a metal Sara, and learning more about Johnny, a little trash can lid, and lit them on fire. The smoke over four years ago, 22 years after the memo- swirled up in a white column. The flames ry Sara describes, back when I was a witness burned with flickers of green and blue amidst to her son’s death. dancing spires of bright orange and yellow. Some of you may already be familiar with Names and messages that were trapped on this part of the story. I was an artist in resi- the paper rose in the smoke, returning to the dence in the village of St. Michael when there spiritual ether, releasing me from the weight was a terrible acciof their care. dent; Johnny, (Pa or Names and messages As the flames Papa2 to his friends died, I reached and family), became that were trapped on the down to pick up a trapped under his paper rose in the smoke, few folded cranes snow machine and that seemed not to drowned in the lake returning to the spiritual have burned. The beside the school. disintegrated ether, releasing me from cranes In the days that folin my fingers, ashes lowed, I engaged the the weight of their care. that had held their school children in shape, released by creating “senbazuru” or folding one thou- my touch. We collected the ashes and spread sand origami cranes, a significant blessing in them around a yellow rose bush planted in my Japanese culture. As we neared our goal, memory of my paternal grandmother. From our story went viral through social media, this moment, I began to tell a new story, one carrying with it a hopeful message of grief that focuses more on life than on death. One support and suicide prevention. that includes Johnny Prince and his mother, I became the de-facto keeper of this story, Sara. working the death and suicide prevention “He was my second oldest, a big help to my circuit, learning the lingo of grief sensitiv- husband and I,” says Sara. “He was so … how ity, sharing our hopeful message everywhere do I say it? Not attached, but he was so lovfrom children’s bereavement camps, to the ing to his grandmas. [Whenever they needed Governor’s Awards in Juneau, to a recent help], Johnny was always the first one out the conference on death and dying held at Reed door, always chopping them wood, and getCollege in Oregon. My friends and I even ting ice, doing household chores. Really, we folded a second senbazuru, (the originals tell him once, and we wouldn’t have to tell are on permanent display in the library of him more than once. the St. Michael school). I taught workshops, I think he made us who we are today. He teaching people how to fold origami cranes, made me into who I am today because I inviting them to write names and messages watched him be born. I took him and raised honoring their deceased loved ones on my him and adopted him even though he had paper birds. I told them about how, in Japan, sickness. the crane is a symbol of peace and long life, He was a very happy, helpful young man. how the crane is said to carry the souls of the In our Yup’ik words, when we corrected recently departed on its back up to paradise. him, scold or nunaq, him, he did not take it For years, I carried a thousand cranes with seriously. He always had a happy attitude tome everywhere, an interactive traveling me- wards us when we nunaq him. He’d always morial, strung in long, colorful strands, an- be joyful, and come back. He wasn’t quick to chored with bone and feathers, packed in an anger. He liked to laugh and tease. antique metal suitcase. They were beautiful Johnny was a very athletic kid. He started and they were increasingly heavy, both physi- basketball at 4th grade, and also NYO, wrist cally and emotionally. carry, Alaska high kick. Seal hop was his best. This summer, I carried the cranes all the He always come home with trophies.” way back to St. Michael, my first visit to the In recent conversations with Sara, I learned village since my fateful residency, and when that Johnny had his final surgery to correct I loaded them off the plane, a bent edge of his cleft palate when he was just eight years the suitcase sliced into my hand. I put my old. Four years later, when Johnny was 12, he mouth over the cut to protect the cranes, and was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancer the metallic taste of my own blood coated my in the bones of his leg. The family spent a tongue. year in Seattle, at Seattle Children’s Hospital, This fall, in a guided meditation, I received where the doctors treated Johnny’s cancer a message that it was time for me to burn my with chemotherapy and bone transplants. senbazuru. The thought came just as easily as “When Johnny woke up and we discussed December 3 - December 9, 2015

it was cancer with him, he said to his doctor, ‘you can cut off my leg if you want.’ He was always coming up with his own solutions.” The treatments worked, and Johnny’s cancer went into remission, where it remained, until his death in St. Michael at the age of 22. “On our last trip [to Seattle], Dr. Conrad, [Johnny’s oncologist], asked Johnny, would you like to live with me for a couple years? He wanted to show him off … After we left, my husband did all kinds of beautiful stuff for the doctors. He made little baskets out of hickory wood, really tiny model baskets to show how thankful we are. He made the doctors little gifts with ivory. They were so amazed.” This year, Seattle Children’s Hospital will be honoring Sara’s son by engraving Johnny’s name on their memorial wall. Sara and her family would like to fly to the hospital, to reconnect with the memory of her son and thank the doctors once again. This may not be possible. A quick google estimate puts the cost of round trip travel for Sara’s family of five, hoping to stay in Seattle for a mere four days and three nights, at a cool $10,000. Sara’s family are commercial fishers, raising just enough for subsistence, with little to spend on family pilgrimages. In Japan, there is a legend that if you fold one thousand origami cranes, you get a wish. So moved by Johnny’s death, I have folded senbazuru many times over. The thing is, I never seemed to get around to the wishing part.

Until now. My first wish on the cranes is to make this trip happen for Sara and her family. And because I know that wishes need elbow grease, I have created a GoFundMe campaign on Sara’s behalf. To date, we have raised $620. That’s where you come in. If we can raise enough money to send Sara and her family to Seattle in January, I will drive up from my farm to meet her, (for the first time), and give her a great big hug, along with our next senbazuru, one thousand origami cranes, being folded by my friends and family as a thank you to Johnny and a gift of healing for his family. “Our lives were different before we had Johnny,” Sara continues. “He taught us to pray, to reach out to our mothers for answers, to help people, be kind for people, have a heart for people … I want to cry, but it’s like rejoice crying, not as much grieving anymore. I have hope.” To contribute to the GoFundMe campaign covering travel costs for Sara’s family, visit: gofundme.com/1000Cranes Because, you know, sometimes it takes a village to make a wish come true. n Leslie Kimiko Ward is a teaching artist, writer, healer, shepherd, and former Alaskan, now living on her sustainable farmstead in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Alaska is her home away from home, and she returns regularly to teach in the villages and connect with friends.

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Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. COURTESY IMAGES

BY LISA MALONEY

HAT WOULD YOU DO if you saw a little girl on the street, shouting “You’re not my dad!” as a man pulled her toward a car? If you’d actually do something, you’re in the minority—or at least that’s what experimenters found when they staged an abduction in broad daylight. The experiment was done out of state, with police supervision, and the video was shown as part of a Green Dot bystander intervention training program I attended recently. I went to the training to find an answer to the question you might be asking right now: “What is this Green Dot thing, anyway?” It turns out there are many ways of answering that question, which may be part of the reason for Green Dot’s success. One answer: Green Dot is a violence-prevention program that actually works, and one of the very rare programs that actually has empirical evidence for its efficacy: In a five-year study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Green Dot program reduced sexual violence in Kentucky high schools by more than 50 percent, and reduced total violence (including sexual violence, stalking, and dating violence) by 40 percent. Another reponse: Green Dot is an answer for anyone who’s seen violence happening or about to happen and wanted to act, but not known what to do. During the training, we kicked around plenty of ideas on how to apply Green Dot’s “Three Ds of bystander intervention:” direct intervention, distraction (to defuse the situation) and delegating (asking someone else to help), with ideas coming as much from the

10 attendees as the two trainers. You don’t have to chase down and tackle a child kidnapper to make a difference, although a couple of the men who actually did respond to the aforementioned simulated kidnapping were ready to do just that. You can be the person that picks up the phone and dials 911 instead. That’s delegating. If you see a mother yelling at her child in the store, you can “accidentally” bump your cart into hers and politely ask if she knows where the milk is, maybe giving her a chance to calm down. Distraction. And if you think you don’t have to do anything because someone else will? Think again. Although reporters generally try to stay out of their own stories, I have a personal example too relevant not to share: I once lived in an apartment building with more than 30 small units packed side by side. You could hear everything—and I do mean everything—through the walls, so a lot of people

sexual assault: Instead of trying to shame people into doing something, or only telling the grown man and pretend victim in the fictitious kidnapping “don’t kidnap and don’t be kidnapped, okay?”, why not engage the bystanders, any one of whom can make an immediate difference? Jake Dokken, an officer with the Anchorage Police Department and one of the volunteer trainers at the Green Dot training I attended, explained that one reason Green Dot works so well is that most people are good people. “Who doesn’t want to see violence come down in our community?” he asked. “Everyone can get behind this and it doesn’t even have to be called ‘Green Dot.’ The premise of being involved in our communities and taking care of each other can go beyond just violence prevention.”

Green Dot is an answer for anyone who’s seen violence happening or about to happen and wanted to act, but not known what to do.

heard me screaming when a violent, mentally ill man started smashing windows. But guess how many people dialed 911? None. The fact that nobody was injured at the end of the day was due mainly to blind luck, but the fact that nobody dialed 911 when they heard glass breaking and a woman screaming bloody murder is even scarier. I spoke to some of my neighbors after the fact and asked them why they didn’t call; some said they thought someone else would do it. Others didn’t give a reason, but they did show me the smartphone video they’d taken of the man ranting and breaking things. Going door to door and asking, “Hey, can we make a deal? If I hear you screaming, I’ll call for help. Next time you hear me screaming, would you please do the same First Friday Reception Dec 4th 5-8pm thing?” still holds a top spot Jim Kaiser Stained Glass Exhibit in my list of surreal life experiences. Unique gifts and Alaskana Art Green Dot really nailed it Hand made candles, ornaments and holiday offerings with one of their slogans: “No Make this season special for everyone on your list! one has to do everything; everyone can do something.” At 336-8500 its most basic, the program is 1120 Huffman Rd Ste 18 a rebranding of how we look (Behind Sushi Garden in Huffman Square) at preventing violence and www.northernmadecreations.com XNLV244779

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December 3 - December 9, 2015

AN ALASKA-DRIVEN COMMUNITY PROGRAM Green Dot was initially developed as a program for use on college and high school campuses. Alaska is the first place it’s been introduced as a community-wide program as part of a pilot program in six communities (Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks, Homer, Kenai and on Prince of Wales Island), as part of the Choose Respect initiative. The pilot program, which wrapped up at the end of June this year, went so well that techniques developed here in Alaska are now being used to launch community-driven Green Dot programs in other states. Despite enduring steep funding cuts in the last year, the official Alaska program has enough funding to expand by two more communities. We’re also the first state to have its own trainers bureau, a collection of eight in-state trainers who have learned the entire threeto four-day curriculum that’s used to introduce Green Dot to new community partners. Once those community partners have been trained, they go on to train the public: They may give 30- to 40-minute overviews on Green Dot, or a full 4- to 6-hour bystander training. The idea is that using trainers rooted in the local communities helps them tailor the program to suit each community’s needs and resources. SO, HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT VIOLENCE? Transitioning Green Dot from college campus program to a community program meant not only presenting ways to safely intervene in situations that might be leading to violence, but also the concept of “daily dots:” Ways that individuals and communities can help change the dialog and social norms around violence. “It’s a really great way to help people talk about a really complicated and painful topic, and to help people feel like what they say

matters,” explained Ann Rausch, prevention program coordinator at the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and overseer of the Green Dot community initiatives in Alaska. With no hard statistics available yet on the community initiatives, she’s in the best position to know how the program is doing. “People like Green Dot,” she said. “People in our state, in our country, are so often impacted by violence ... it can feel so big, people can sometimes shut down. So Green Dot is really just like, ‘Hey, we’ll take you where you are. Here are some things you can do, and what you do matters.’ It’s a real invitation, instead of any kind of shaming or anything. You can do something, and what you do matters.” Over time, Rausch said, changing the dialog around violence also changes the social and community norms. And apparently it works. When I circulated an email to others who’d attended the Green Dot training and asked how things were going, I got several replies that the training had prompted ongoing conversations. “I was very impressed by the training,” wrote Adriel Grimshaw, a dispatcher with the Anchorage Police Department that attended in her off-duty hours. “It’s so awesome to see our whole community getting involved in this huge issue of violence. And I really appreciated that everyone can do something no matter how small when they see a situation. And that it doesn’t mean you have to break up a fist fight but maybe it’s more of caring for all those we come into contact whether it be at the grocery store, airplane or work situations.” As stated above, I can’t really pretend not to have a stake in conversations about this sort of thing. But really, who doesn’t have something at stake here? Even if you haven’t been personally subject to violence or sexual assault, you know somebody who has. There is no “maybe” or “probably” involved here. And I think we all agree it’s too much. The issue has just been finding a way to address a problem so big, so pervasive, that it really can feel overwhelming. But Green Dot encourages the only thing that will ever prevent violence before it starts: community connection. “When people start lifting their head up and looking at who’s around them,” Dokken said, “they start to notice other things they can step in and help with like helping a stranded motorist, picking up trash, and making friends with neighbors that a lot of people don’t even know they have.” You can learn more about the statewide initiative at greendotalaska.com. They’re also developing an online calendar for trainings and community events across the state; it should be live within the next few weeks. n

RT IS AN IMPORTANT PART of Alaska’s rich cultural history. Alaskan Native tribes have used art for thousands of years to communicate socially, as well as express themselves creatively. But art, by nature, is constantly evolving and two local artists with Alaska Native heritage, Arielo “Bisco” Taylor and William Kozloff, are making their own mark on the Alaskan art scene and forcing Anchorage to consider that contemporary Alaska Native art does not necessarily have roots in the traditional art forms of the eight indigenous cultures of Alaska. Taylor was born and raised in Anchorage, spending most of his adolescence in Mountain View and Fairview. He comes from a large, blended family of 11 children. He himself is half Aleut on his father’s side. His first exposure to art was painting in a head start children’s program. “I started drawing soon after, too, when I was four or five,” Taylor said. “First grade was when I was actually really good at it and it just became a thing after that.” He was first drawn to graffiti and street art in fourth and fifth grade when his friends would ask him to draw their names. “I had never really seen graffiti or been exposed to it other than a mural that in Mountain View Elementary,” Taylor said. Graffiti-style “commissions” for his friends eventually led to a budding curiosity in the medium. “Eighth grade I really started drawing [graffiti]; I got a little bit of birthday money the summer I turned 14 and I immediately went to the store and bought a whole ton of spray paint,” Taylor explained. It wasn’t until just recently that Taylor became inspired by the more traditional art forms of his heritage. “I try to not incorporate [Alaska Native art] in my graffiti just because I don’t know what is and what is right and wrong to do with the designs,” Taylor said. “Every different house has different rules

about their artwork and I don’t want to violate any of that.” Taylor admitted that he hasn’t had the chance to really explore his heritage much, although he has been doing some artwork for the First Alaskans Institute over the past year. “I’d definitely like to explore my heritage more; growing up I didn’t really have much contact with that side of my family,” Taylor said. “The only things I do know about Alaska Native culture and history is whatever watered-down version you get in public school.” A big part of Taylor’s growing interest in discovering his heritage, he says, is his 15-month old son, August. “I’d like to start him off right as far as knowing his full background. There weren’t really a whole lot of options for me to know mine until now,” Taylor explained. Taylor hopes that he will be able to get his son involved Alaskan Native education, and help him learn about his culture. Artist and friend William Kozloff, with whom he’s done a few shows in the past, will join Taylor at Red Chair Café this First Friday. The pair first met in 2008 over MySpace. “We saw each other’s work in an old boutique that’s no longer open called The Lab,” Taylor explained. The Lab catered to the hiphop community, Taylor said, and the owners commissioned local graffiti artists to do a lot of the artwork in the shop. Kozloff had a very different upbringing from Taylor’s. A self-described “village kid,” Kozloff called Tok and Tanacross home for a majority of his adolescence before his family settled just outside of Fairbanks. “There was an outhouse and no running water; you had to go into town to get water,” he explained. Kozoff’s father worked for the state, and when he took custody of his son, Kozloff found himself moving all around Alaska. “I was out of school after the second-half of second grade until fifth grade; I spent a lot of time moving around and being out in the woods,” Kozloff said. His interest in art blossomed late in life because of a conscious choice to become sober. “I spent 18 to 22 mostly just partying: a lot of

December 3 - December 9, 2015

Untitled Basquiat por trait. BY BISCO TAYLOR

booze and a lot of girls,” Kozloff recalled. “I kept saying that

I turned into an asshole, that was when I needed feeling whenever e h t d n a t to buckle down.” According to Kozloff, that day came sooner s r e d “I un rather than later; he and his girlfriend were getting serious rvation and he felt that it was time to settle down. “I was left with all e s e r p r fo d e e of n this excess energy,” Kozloff said. , s t It was during this time that Kozloff got into graffiti and r ive a t a N ] a k s la stenciling. Taking time to decompress, there were a couple of [A for months while dealing with the transition to sobriety of in which he tookhe was d n fo t o n to seclusion. “I was not ready to go outside. m a but I also I kind of became a recluse and used art to occupy my time,” said. “One thing lead to another … I always wanted to be gs are.” hea writer, in h t t n a n g a t s but I’m a much better artist.” how Still, writing plays a major party in Kozloff’s art. “A maff jority of it has writing in it, but the beauty of [graffiti] is —William Kozlo that you get to layer it and sort of keep the message hidden,” Kozloff said. The fun of hiding messages within his

art is only heightened with his tradition of doing live painting at his receptions. “It’s weird; it makes it sort of exhibitionistic. I get to say what I want and every once in a while someone will be like ‘What did you just write?’” Kozloff explained. Half Aleut and an eighth Athabascan, Kozloff and Taylor talked in the past about the fact that the art world is predominately white. “We talk about putting enough art out in order to force yourself to be seen,” Kozloff said. His own relationship with tradition Alaska Native art forms is complicated. “I understand the feeling of need for preservation for [Alaska] Native arts, but I also am not fond of how stagnant things are,” he said. Is it the art form itself, or the artist behind it that makes art a part of the collective culture? While neither Kozloff nor Taylor has a solid answer, both are in agreement that their Alaska Native heritage is important to them and the space they occupy in the Anchorage art scene. n

Bisco Taylor and William Kozloff will host a joint First Friday reception Friday, Dec. 4 at Red Chair Café (337 W. 4th Ave.) at 5 p.m. Find William Kozloff on instagram: @lodust.

December 3 - December 9, 2015

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“Sally” By Kamdon Sutterfield RECEPTION AT ARCTIC ROSE GALLERY, 5 TO 8 P.M.

“Wave” By Theresa Westerlund RECEPTION AT ARCTIC ROSE GALLERY, 5 TO 8 P.M.

AROUND TOWN ARCTIC ROSE GALLERY—Acrylics on stretched fabric, and canvas prints by local artist Kamdon Sutterfield: 5 to 8 p.m. (1443 W. Northern Lights Blvd.) BOHEME COFFEE LOUNGE—”Expressions & Inspirations” a show of original paintings and handmade pottery by Alaskan artist Theresa Westerlund: 5 to 8 p.m. (1443 W. Northern Lights Blvd.)

DOWNTOWN 4TH AVENUE INDOOR MARKET—The 4th Avenue Indoor Market has joined the First Friday Art Walk in a culmination of crafts, arts, music, and food: 5 to 7:30 p.m. (333 W. 4th Ave.)

CONOCOPHILLIPS GALLERY AT APU—Susan Burnstine, the 2015 Rarefied Light juror, selected from 650 submissions from 49 photographs for the final exhibition this year. In addition, Burnstine chose two artist whose work will be featured in this invitational group exhibit, Kaitlin Wilson and Breanna Peterson: 5:30 to 7 p.m. (4101 University Dr. in Grant Hall) KALADI BROTHERS—Cordova artist Karl Becker presents his watercolor landscapes inspired by a visit to Denali National Park and Preserve: 4 to 6 p.m. (1340 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 409)

ANCHORAGE COMMUNITY WORKS—First Friday Late Salon will feature local artist Enzina Marrari with a live performance by VivaVoom Brr-lesque at 8:15 p.m. followed by live music from Tanana Rafters: 8 to 11 p.m. (349 E. Ship Creek Ave.)

LEAH J. PETERSON GALLERY AT APU—Alaska Photographic Center, statewide nonprofit organization founded to promote and support fine-art photography in Alaska, host it’s annual Member’s Exhibition, an opportunity for all interested APC members to exhibit their work: 5:30 to 7 p.m. (410 University Dr. in the Carr Gottstein Bldg.)

ANCHORAGE MUSEUM—”Winter Up Here” brings the experience of the pleasures of a solitary lifestyle on the edge of the frontier inside, the comforts of the cabin and joy of peaceful night skies under the aurora: 6 to 8 p.m. (625 C St.)

NORTHERN MADE CREATIONS—This dual show features the work of Jim Kaiser a long time Alaskan who creates his glass art from his studio in Girdwood, and Jodi Madigan, and artist who specializes in pen and ink, and watercolors. (1120 Huffman Rd. Suite 18.)

THE BOARDROOM—A group show featuring oil paintings by artist Michelle Xiao, James Temte Nils Lane, and Katie Alley accompanied by live music: 5 to 8 p.m. (601 W. 5th Ave., Fl 2nd)

MIDDLE WAY CAFE—Photographers Brian Montablo and Will Koeppen present their show “Beyond Adventure Beyond Crowds,” an exploration of unconstructed photos and hidden shapes. (1300 W. Northern Lights Blvd. Suite G)

CLENDANIEL STUDIO—Local artist Scott Clendaniel is hosting a Holiday Studio Sale with holiday cards, oil paintings, and limited-edition prints in his very own painting studio: 4 to 8 p.m. (333 W. 4th Ave.) CAPTAIN COOK COFFEE CUBBY—Charcoal artist Ray Gamradt and “Mountain Mama” Sonia Pullins’ joint show present their work: 5 to 9 p.m. (939 W. 5th Ave.) CRUSH WINE BISTRO—The ”Royal Spice” art show represents the latest work by local artist Siobhan O’Hara, ranging from Turkish landscapes to traditional portraits: 5 to late (343 W. 6th Ave.)

MIDNIGHT SUN BREWING COMPANY—Bleu Moon Roesbery offers a new series of paintings and driftwood wall art paired with Midnight Sun’s latest brew: 5 to 8 p.m. (8111 Dimond Hook Dr.) OPEN SPACE—This collective First Friday features work by Sioux Blackledge, Ashley Hovis, Scott Jelich, Ivan Bacon; dance performances by Rabia & Gozde Dans; and Gypsy Horizon Jewelry, pottery, paintings and more: 5 to 9 p.m. (630 E. 57th Pl.)

INTERNATIONAL GALLERY OF CONTEMPORARY ART—In Center Gallery IGCA presents “Anchorage Narratives,” a collection of interactive print works of short historical fiction made for the Anchorage Centennial using various illustration styles to create augmented reality works from artist Nathan Shafer, Angela Yatlin Gonzalez, Kris Farmen, Dawnell Smith, and Ademola Bello. “A Small Body of Work,” by Elise Rose and Jeanie Smith in North Gallery is an exhibition of mixed media and reclaimed textile work. In South Gallery, Michele Suchland presents “...and everything in between,” an exhibition of mixed media assemblage: 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. (427 D St.) RED CHAIR—From walls to canvas, graffiti artist William Kozloff & Arielo “Bisco” Taylor bring their unique spray paint artwork to Red Chair. Live painting during reception, 5 p.m. (337 E. 4th Ave.) SNOW CITY CAFE—Julie Matthews’ “Curvilinear Connections” is a new body of work created for this exhibition that found inspiration from the natural world. The clay shapes, the celadon glaze, and matte colors reflect those paths traveled while hiking: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (1034 W. 4th Ave.) SPARC: A CREATIVE PLACE—Group Show by Sparc artists featuring mixed media masks with music by The Arc DJ Group: 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. (425 D St.) STEPHAN FINE ARTS—“Images of Anchorage, Recent and Remembered” showcases artist Betty Atkinson’s 20 original oils, all of which depict some of Atkinson’s most personal memories of Anchorage: 5 to 10 p.m. (939 W. 5th Ave.) SUBZERO MICROLOUNGE—The Christmas spirit will be flowing as Subzero shows off their collection of art from Christmas past to present: 6 to 9 p.m. (612 F St.)

December 3 - December 9, 2015

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taken a couple of years to open, but in the meantime the Girdwood opportunity came along and I learned so much about what it takes to run a very small A BODEGA is my favorite liquor store,” she says. store for simple reasons. The beer The La Bodega brand brings people is incredibly well cared for, the into the new Northern Lights Store, store features a lot of variety, and new but each is unique. “This new shop is selections are put right up front which pretty close to the Metro operation, but is handy for a busy craft beer lover like it’s funny that they’re really in two disme. The staff at La Bodega know about tinct parts of town. That’s what we saw the beer they are selling and have usuhere,” says Hatzis. “Northern Lights is a ally tried it before I have. Finally, I can busy mall, but people walk around here buy a single beer by breaking up a six more. It’s more of a neighborhood. Metpack. This takes the risk out of trying ro is squarely in a business district. The new beers. Northern Lights shop is more like the These factors keep me coming back, Girdwood store,” she says comparing even though the beer is slightly pricier the three. The Metro Mall is more like than at a big box store. La Bodega has our living room. The Girdwood shop is grown despite the competition because like our cabin, and the Northern Lights the big guys can’t deliver the at-home shop is like our urban apartment,” she feel that’s a hallmark at Bodega. says. The third La Bodega liquor store The Northern Lights store opened on Northern Lights Blvd. shares space that’s also earin a small space between REI and The third La Bodega liquor marked for the Hearth, the pizza the Middle Way Cafe on Wednesday, November 25 and the place store opened on North- and dining spot that Campobello has been working to put together. quickly got busy. “It’s such a competitive mar- ern Lights Blvd. in a small Bodega faces Northern Lights ket,” admits Pamela Hatzis, owner space between REI and Boulevard and the Hearth will extend behind it facing Benson of the small, three-store chain. “I Boulevard to the south. feel we’re competitive on price no the Middle Way Cafe. “The Hearth will focus on matter how small we are. We’re not way off and that helps. We are the place high end liquor store in the popular pizza with a wood fired oven. It will be that people go to when they are actively skier and tourist destination. She set up a very simple menu of really great pizsearching for an alternative to big box a small shop there in December of 2013. zas and appetizers. There will be a beer There’s a twist. “Jonathan Campobel- focus for sure. I think they’re wanting stores. We’re all about community, and that gives us an edge,” she says, echoing lo from the Middle Way Café came to to install 16 taps. We’re connected by a me when we were getting ready to make hallway. We’ll be working together on my sentiments. But there’s more to the new store than the move from the University Mall to what we’ll both be carrying. Once they a bigger market. Hatzis was a college the Metro location,” says Hatzis. “’I’m get opened, it will be the focus of my student when she discovered Yukon thinking about opening another res- shop to collaborate with the restaurant. Spirits in the University Mall. The store taurant and high end pizza place in this Jonathan has a little flex space room was for sale. “I got into this because I got space. I was wondering if you wanted built into the plan and if everything my business degree and decided that I to be involved in that? You could rent works out right, I might be able to hold wanted my own business,” she says. She some space from me and we could do tastings in there. I’ve never had a place was a steady Yukon Spirits customer some collaborating on the beer,’” recalls where people could sit and taste the beer long before the store was up for sale. De- Hatzis. “I said I’d love to, but I’d just I sell,” says Hatzis of exciting plans in spite her business acumen, Hatziz loves signed the lease for the space over in the works. “I’m stoked for the new shop. We’re local beer. “Jon Ashbrook, the owner, Metro,” she told him. Hatzis actually signed a lease with going to keep it simple and have just six put up these little pink signs with Uncle Sam pointing straight at you saying Campobello in February of 2012, and taps on the growler bar. I don’t want to ‘You can own this store.’ That’s what did went through all the motions: getting change the beers out as frequently as the community approval, and getting they change out over at Metro. We’ll it for me,” says Hatzis. The popularity of the craft beer store the licensing and the business details do a First Friday tap change at Northwas explosive. The place was formerly worked out. “By the fall of 2012 I was ern Lights. One tap will always be a cithe bolt-on Oaken Keg liquor store good to go. I just had to wait until the der,” says Hatzis of the layout in the new place. when Safeway lived in the space Natu- space was ready for me,” she says. Waiting was actually good. Hatzis What’s in the future for Bodega? ral Pantry took over. It was small and became more entrenched in the in- Who knows. “I’m done,” says Hatzis. dingy, but quickly became a niche. Hatzis could only do so much with dustry and learned more about what it “I’m excited to do more with what we the cramped confines of the tiny store. I takes to run multiple locations, thanks have right now,” she says with a tired, think beer lovers were clamoring more to the Girdwood location. “Yeah, it’s happy voice. n

BY JAMES “DR. FERMENTO” ROBERTS

for her to outgrow it than she was. “It was actually a combination of factors,” says Hatzis. “The lease I had was so old going back from 1971. It was a really low price. I could afford it when I was just starting out.” The lease ended which made the price go up,” says Hatzis. It didn’t price us out, but considering that we wanted to do more, it didn’t make sense to stay. Hatzis shopped around and finally settled on the Metro Mall location and was selling beer in April of 2012. Enhancements included a three-fold increase in floor space. Special window and glass cooler door coatings and special LED lighting keeps the beers closer to what the brewer intended were part of the design. Hatzis moved to Girdwood and immediately recognized the need for a

Upcoming Events at

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First Friday with Four Fabulous Artists December 4 • 5 -9 PM Kids Yoga Camp, Saturdays January 9 - February 20 Baby Yoga Camp, Thursdays January 14 - February 25 • 2:30 PM Foundations of Kundalini Workshop, Fridays January 8 - February 26 • 7 -9 PM Yoga, Art and Meditation Series with Melanie Lombard, Saturdays January 23 - March 12 • 1:30 - 3:30 PM Yoga Workshop with Visiting Master Teacher Nicki Doane, February 5 -7th New Drop-in / Donation Classes beginning in December: Candlelight Yoga with Tara Sundays 7 - 8:30 PM Yoga Basics with Lynne Mondays 10 - 11:15 AM Yin Yoga with Tara Mondays 4:30 - 5:45 PM Cleanse, Core, Explore with Svia Tuesdays 4:30 - 5:45 PM Power Yoga with Tara Wednesdays 12 -1 PM

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openspacealaska.com openspacealaska@gmail.com 16

“L

EROY AND THE Pop Tautologies.” “Leroy and the Eternal Truths.” Leroy’s, of course, is not the head of a band with a fetish for 1960s nomenclature, but a diner situated in Midtown’s sprawl. Neither the sign nor the interior nor the menu—nor, on many days, the clientele—appear to have changed since the 1970s. Leroy’s has a bank of windows looking across the mad rush of southbound traffic, and it is fully transparent about what the restaurant offers: Large quantities of cafeteria quality food for low prices. It is what it is. The fact that there is so little one can say about the food of Leroy’s begs a broader inquiry about mediocre food in America. Affluent Americans’ disgust with fast food has left unexamined an equally bizarre, or indigestible, question about our national cuisine: Why are there so many diners, so much decades-old grease caked on the floor of cook lines, the bleak Edward Hopper architecture so consistent across municipalities that it should lead to conspiracies of United Nations intervention in commercial building codes?

Eating at Leroy’s, you will have ample time to consider these and other existential questions. The service is not fast, though there is no reason the food should take long to prepare. Other diners appear to be in no rush either—the demographic is decidedly geriatric, and the food is strikingly similar to what you might find in a senior center cafeteria. Not that all the qualities of senior center cafeterias are negative. Paralleling the ancient Greek riddle about the circularity of age, both elementary school and senior citizen versions tend to have a high caloric density, which I certainly appreciate. At Leroy’s the standard “stack” of pancakes has five of

is a little hard to understand why every restaurant, including Leroy’s, doesn’t just make their own decent steak fries. It isn’t complicated. The fried chicken dinner comes with more side options: Mashed potatoes or a baked potato are alternatives to fries, and the plate also comes with a pretty large bowl of soup or salad. The three bean soup cooked with an ample supply of bacon is the best item I’ve encountered on Leroy’s menu, and makes up for dense, bland mashed potatoes with gelatinous gravy. While we’re on the subject of calorie maximization, Leroy’s countryfried steak with eggs, hash browns, and a side of toast has to take the prize ($12). It is a daunting amount of food, enough for even an American to subsist for an entire day. Attempting to consume the entire plate almost certainly will lead to gastronomic distress. (Generally your faithful food reviewer would only suggest such a thing based on personal painful experience.) The country-fried steak is, well, what it is. It’s no Club Paris, but it’s edible. Just make sure you have several people at the table if you’re trying to down a single plate. Once you’ve consumed your meal, and your pupils are dilating, and the windows looking out over C Street become wavy as your body reacts to caloric overload, you may be wondering a) where is the check, and b) where is the bathroom? At this point, on the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s discovery of relativity, you will realize just how much slower time moves at Leroy’s than in the rest of Anchorage and the rest of the universe. In the outside world, oil strikes have been made, states have gone bankrupt and resurrected themselves, and whole generations have procreated and perished while you’re waiting for your check. It wouldn’t be so bad, since the coffee refills are free, if they’d just come fill up your cup. n

You will realize just how much slower time moves at Leroy’s than in the rest of Anchorage and the rest of the universe. them. Can you remember the last time you ate five plate-sized pancakes in one sitting? It probably hasn’t happened, so the diner who is hanging out in Leroy’s for fewer than multiple hours will probably order a “short” stack of three massive cakes ($6). In a bizarre crosscultural reference Leroy’s offers the option to “Frenchify” the cakes by adding fruit to them. Trust me: either way you won’t get a crepe. Perhaps it is a nod to culture and Continental prices that adding bananas to a short pancake stack costs $3. The fish and chips ($13) and fried chicken dinner ($14) also offer a surfeit of calories. The crinkle cut fries from a bag are overcooked, crunchy and dry. It

Leroy’s Family Restaurant 2420 C St. Open 24/7

December 3 - December 9, 2015

FOOD BY SHERRY TOMLINSON

TRIP TO A LOCAL artisan bakery is a quick ticket to earthly heaven. To walk through a hobbit-small door into a warm, yeasty room full of baked goods just does it for me. Here at Fire Island Bakery are cases filled with rustic round loaves, deep-crusted and dark. Nesting in baskets are the croissants. There is pain au chocolat with the chocolate still warm inside, ham and cheese; and my favorite, the traditional croissant—flakey, tender inside, wafting the texture and memory of a Paris café morning. Then there are the cookies; espresso shortbread, macaroons, and chocolate chip are tiered above glass cases full of scones, tarts, and savories of all sorts. It’s crowded; it’s noisy, and often the waiting line involves full body contact. The staff here is young. They have lovely oven warmed faces and a cheery busyness. They do muscular work at long tables mixing and forming loaves. They waft little puffs of flour over their work. On this frosty winter morning, I am comforting myself against the cold with a coffee and croissant. I notice a sign-up sheet describing a series of bread-making classes. Here’s one using ancient grains like emmer and einkorn and kamut, the dust of other cultures

still clinging to their names. I sign up. The bakery staff is ready when we novice bakers show up. There is a neat pile of fresh baker’s aprons for us as we come in the door. I try mine on, and notice that we students break into two groups—those who can tie their apron strings in front with a neat bow, and those of us who can’t make it around twice with the ties and settle for a knot in back. On top of the bakery cases there are plates of prosciutto, olives, olive oil, and chunks of rustic bread. Really? For us? We gather around a long work table to chat with our instructor. ¸Oven master Carlyle Watt is a pleasant person, intense about how to make good bread. He has handouts, scales for measuring, and a half-dozen white buck-

form a loaf using our hands. I dust my loaf with flour, and begin a circular dance, lifting the edges up with the bench knife while smoothing with my other hand. The puffy dough with its yeasty fragrance feels like life in my hands, yet my formed loaf looks nothing like Watt’s. It’s not easy, but we dutifully dust our small round baskets with clouds of flour, and carefully place our imperfect loaves into baskets, where they will rest and rise. Students are chattering loudly when Watt says, “I’m only doing this once, so watch!” Yes … Sir! As we wait for the rise, we start making our own dough. Our measurements are in grams, carefully weighed on scales, and as Watt measures out flour, he emphasizes the importance of being exact, with increments in pinches. When we’re instructed to measure in the salt, I become impatient and chuck some unmeasured salt into my dough. Watt catches me. “Did you just use your fingers to salt your dough?” he asks. I tell the truth while putting a bit of dough in my mouth to taste it. “And you’re tasting your dough?” he queries. Oh boy, I’m thinking—bad student. Surprisingly, Watt begins to applaud me. “I commend you,” he declares. “Bread making is about art.” I’m pleased but embarrassed, too. I thought I was just a lazy baker. We then head for the oven which is about the size of a Volkswagen upended and probably costs as much as a new Ferrari. We carefully turn the loaves over onto the oven’s fabric shelves, trying to keep all the airy lightness inside the loaves. We stand close together in the cramped hot space when Watt rolls the first batch in. “Stand back” he warns, “they’ll be a blast of hot steam.” He pushes a button

Standing at the table with butter dripping between my fingers, I notice that no one mentions carbs or calories. ets with leavened dough made from flours such as rye, barley, buckwheat, millet, amaranth and quinoa. Watt tips one bucket and smoothly rolls the dough onto the kneading table. He shows us how to cut off a piece with our bench knife, weigh the dough, and then

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on the front of the oven, and “Whoosh!” a superheated cloud of steam wafts our way. And again, the button, the whoosh, the heat. We huddle close within the smell of the baking bread; its powerful aroma almost erotic. Lovely, lovely. The buzzer sounds. The first of the loaves are done. Towels in hand, we unload the hot bread onto a table. Watt has a big bar of butter and a bread knife. He starts slicing and serving, urging us to slather our dark crusted slices with butter. There’s the slight resistance of the bite—hearty, strong bread, the crunch of a deep toasted crust, and finally, the salty slickness of a butter finish. Standing at the table with butter dripping between my fingers, I notice that no one mentions carbs or calories. There is a cozy feeling among us; we are, I think, a bit tired and happy and bready! Feeling expansive, I say, “In the Lord’s prayer, we ask the Lord to ‘Give us our daily bread.’” Some people see that request as allegorical, but I think it means just that—give us this day our daily bread. It’s starting to get late and after standing for three-and-a-half hours, I’m anxious to get off my feet. I wish I could come tomorrow morning, put on the baker’s hat and tie my apron in back. Baking takes strength and endurance and a good back, and for me, that day is gone. But on this day, leaving the bakery with my bucket of rye and cardamom sourdough and a brown bag of warm loaves, I feel a baker’s glow. n For more information on baking classes at Fire Island, visit fireislandbread.com.

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WINE REVIEW BY MATT IVERSON EVER ONE TO PANDER to the senseless commercialism of our shallow, materialistic age, I thought I’d use this space to remind everyone about the real reason for the season … But then I saw that JC Penney-discount-rack Infinity scarf you were about to buy your partner. Seriously, dude, that’s like, soooo 2013; don’t you read O Magazine? Thomas Keller finishing salts and family jammies are the new Infinity scarf. Okay, okay, I’ll level with you. While I’m not one to exert myself fretting over what to get whom, I realize that most readers are probably going to purchase presents for the many people in their lives, regardless of my personal take on things. So in the interest of saving you a little time and energy, I’ve ferreted out what I think are a few very worthwhile suggestions. This week’s gift guide features some superb dessert wines. Why? Because they’re delicious with the myriad desserts served this time of year; because at least one of them is a Christmas tradition; because it’s cold out and we can use the extra calories; and because someone you’re buying a gift for has a sweet tooth, and this is just the thing for them. And if they don’t want wine, you’re still in luck, because one of the following is a cider. Purchase these for presents or to pop at your holiday party; just remember, while some fashions fade, the gift of good booze is always in style.

bottle: ripe apples of course, but also sweet hay, pears, ginger, nutmeg, and just a touch of pumpkin’s earthy sweetness … or is it sweet earthiness? Juice this good makes one forget proper syntax. It’s not overly sweet, and for its 16 percent alcohol is almost too drinkable; if anyone actually still makes figgy pudding, this is the drink to have with it. Costs about $23. STICKY STOCKING STUFFER: AURORA, RUTHERGLEN MUSCAT

Aside from cheap, super-sized bottles of chardonnay and shiraz, Australia is also known in some circles for delectable, super-sweet dessert wines, often from the muscat grape (same grape as moscato, just spelled differently). This particular bottle is all apricots and honey on the nose, with big time sweetness through and through; there’s a reason Australians call these wines ‘stickies.’ Best with vanilla ice cream and a gingerbread man, and frankly, ladled right on top is not a bad way to go. Costs about $14, or about what you’ll pay to have less fun seeing the new James Bond film …

While some fashions fade, the gift of good booze is always in style.

AN APPLE (BRANDY) A DAY: TIETON WIND, TIETON CIDERWORKS

This Yakima Valley cidery does things right: they use apple varieties specifically suited for cider production (Spitzenberg and Kingston Black, anyone?), make a wholly engaging line of everyday ciders, and still manage a couple extra tricks up their sleeve—this lovely nectar being one of them. A mashup between apple brandy and barrel-fermented cider, I can’t help but think it tastes just like harvest season distilled into a

QUITE RIGHT, OLD CHAP: VINTAGE PORT

Of any Christmas tradition worth toasting, this is certainly near the top of the list. The British routinely finish their holiday dinner by pouring everyone at the table a little nip of port. In fact, the upper-crust of London loved vintage port so much that, in days of old, it was common to buy a lifetime’s worth of port at the birth of a new child, so that he would be have enough to share with his curmudgeonly cronies once they all came of age and were running the family firms. However, there’s no need to take it that far, as one bottle will do quite nicely. Now, vintage port is not for the faint of heart: brazenly strong, exotically spicy, sweet and dark chocolatey and laden with layers the more it breathes. Best to sip it slowly like a fine brandy; it’s one of those drinks that tastes better when you share. There are just a handful of different vintage ports available on the market, but the upside of that just about every one of them has something pretty good going for it. Ranging from $54 to $110 for most of them, your local wine merchant can steer you toward the bottle most suited to your price and purpose. n

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EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME!)

Cyrano’s Off Center Playhouse, 7 p.m.

Instead of performing Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told plus Christmas traditions from around the world. Seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture and every carol ever sung abound. Presented by Cyrano’s Theatre Company. $23$25.50. (413 D St.)

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Curious about what’s in the night sky? Take a guided tour through space and time in this live planetarium show, customized to highlight current astronomical occurrences. Galaxies, nebulae, binary stars: all features of the universe are explored except black holes—no one can see black holes. This special presentation, held in conjunction with “Van Gogh Alive,” focuses on light and color in astronomy and in the night sky. $5. (625 C St.)

SAUCY YODA AND MYRA MAINS Flying Chinook, 9:30 p.m.

Saucy Yoda kicks off her Lions, Turtles and Tulips Tour this Friday with a performance at the Flying Chinook. Saucy’s latest album It’s Not A Mystery came out this past July, and she’s getting ready to hit the road in support of it. Joining her will by Myra Mains. $5. (4610 Spenard Rd.)

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Bear Tooth Theatrepub, 7 p.m.

Cherub is a sexy electro-pop duo that is the dance love-child of ‘80’s funk and pop-music from the future. The members of Cherub, Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber, share a love for honest original music and vibrant live performance, with a common goal to share a little bit of sex, a little bit of drugs and a whole lot of love with people across the globe. $30 in advance, $35 day of show. (1230 W. 27th Ave.)

SAT DEC 5 PUMP UP THE KIDS CHARITY: 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS PUB CRAWL Downtown, 7 p.m. to 2 a.m.

Collaborative Minds and Family Tree Presents are hosting the 4th Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Pub Crawl to raise money for the Pump Up The Kids charity program run by 94.7 KZND that benefits foster teens in Alaska. Twelve downtown bars and businesses are participating: PlayHouse, McGinley’s Pub, Pioneer Bar, Mad Myrna’s, The Gaslight Lounge, Williwaw, Darwin’s Theory, Humpy’s Great Alaskan Ale House, Flattop Pizza + Pool, SubZero Microlounge, Brown Bag Sandwich Co. and The Avenue Bar.

December 3 - December 9, 2015

MUSIC PROFILE BY INDRA ARRIAGA

VERY NOW AND THEN, in an innocuous building in an industrial part of Anchorage, magic happens. I was very fortunate to be painting at my studio on nights when a band would rehearse down the hall. The band was Nellie Clay & The Lucky Dogs and they were great! I would turn off whatever I was listening to, pour myself a drink and listen to the emerging tracks that would ultimately comprise the newly released CD, Never Did What I Shoulda Done. I knew Clay’s voice before we ever met, which ended up being in a friendly vie for the building’s shared bathroom. We chatted and I learned that Clay is also a painter, as well as a musician, and that her music has taken front and center in her artistic career. Clay’s musical style falls under the vague and wide umbrella of “Americana.” The Americana Music Association describes this genre as “… contemporary music that incorporates elements of various American roots music styles, including country, roots-rock, folk, bluegrass, R&B and blues, resulting in a distinctive roots-oriented sound that lives in a world apart from the pure forms of the genres upon which it may draw. While acoustic instruments are often present and vital, Americana also often uses a full electric band.” However, with such a loose definition, it’s best just to hear Clay’s music, rather than to try to make it fit into a box, no matter how big and vague that box may be. Never Did What I Shoulda Done was released at the end of October 2015, and as luck would have it, I was passing through Nashville just a few days later so the timing was perfect to reconnect with Clay. She drinks Bourbon. I drink Scotch. But on this occasion, we opted for fruity, pretty drinks with sugary rims, along with crab cakes and great conversation about a million things, but mostly about her music and career. This is Clay’s second CD. Her first effort, Born Too Late, she describes as pre-mature because not only was it low budget, but it was also very early in her career and she feels that her voice, as an instrument, was not where it is now. As a listener, however, one can hear the tones, style and ideas that flourish in Never Did What I Shoulda Done. The first CD holds its own, even though Clay may see it with the same chagrin that many artists view early work—at once vulnerable and foreshadowing. On Never Did What I Shoulda Done, all the basic tracks were recorded live in Anchorage, but she flew her producer engineer from Brooklyn to work with them. One of Clay’s key supporters and collaborators is Tim Easton, a fellow musician who lives in Nashville and plays in Alaska often. Clay met Easton around a campfire at Salmonstock a few years ago. He does some back up vocals on the album and encouraged Clay to move to Nashville; after all, a great album is the best calling card anyone could hope for. The integrity of the album,

sound advice, and Clay’s feeling that her time in Alaska was done made the move to Nashville a no-brainer. Clay never thought she would leave Alaska, thought she would live in the woods forever, but she “wanted to grow as an artist, to learn from people that were much better than me and collaborate with other people, and to live for experience,” she told me. “My Dad died in a tragic car crash unexpectedly three years ago, and especially after that, I wanted to live for experiences. I wanted to have beautiful experiences and opportunities for growth. I want to see what I can do, play new venues, a change of scenery.” Being in a highly competitive and professional environment like Nashville raises the bar for Clay and her fellow musicians. She describes her ongoing experience of adapting to the city and the industry not as struggling, but as scrambling to catch up, quickly making connections and learning the ropes. The level of professionalism in Nashville, she says, “blows my mind.” Originally from Oklahoma, Clay has academic/formal, training as a visual artist. She was working at The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis doing art restoration when she

I liken painting to a meditation, and music to a bloodletting.

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decided to visit a friend who had recently moved to Alaska. That visit, and Alaska, changed the trajectory of her life and career, adding a layer of genuine virtuosity to the world of music as we know it in Anchorage. Now the sound of her voice is filling new spaces in Nashville’s hopping music scene, and becoming part of something bigger. She relocated to Nashville about a year ago, after nine formative years in Alaska. Living off the grid provided space and time for Clay to discover music quickly, deeply, and without compromise. Prior to coming to Alaska and intuitively making the leap from visual arts to music, Clay had zero experience as a musician. She is quick to point out that there is no auto-tuning employed in the recording of the album, something that she is very proud of. Of all the instruments Clay taught herself to play, and continues to practice and perfect, her voice is the most sublime. Like a swig of Black Maple Hill Bourbon, her voice easily delves raspy depths just above the heart and then up into a light and lingering wisp. Her vibrato is slight, hinting of darker times without giving in to them. There is love in this album, so much love, and in so many forms—from her firmly planted feet in Dust Bowl history, in a Woody Guthrie sort of way, to her personal experiences with family relationships, and of course, any love song filled with fun and hope is the cherry on top. Unlike visual arts, “what I love about music is that you’re creating something with other people. I prefer not to play alone,” she says. “I like the magic of creating something in time and space with other people. It’s the coolest thing on earth. And forcing myself to be in front of people and doing something that is uncomfortable, it forces me to step outside of that box. I can say or sing things that are terribly revealing and personal in a song and to a whole room full of strangers that I could never sit down and tell a friend face-to-face. I can’t explain it. It’s liberating. I liken painting to a meditation, and music to a bloodletting.” We laugh and order another round of pretty drinks. I asked Clay about her growing number of fans and their desire to know her. She laughs and says she probably has ten. But then she expounds, “They [fans] do want access to you as a human being, as an individual, and I open myself up to that because my writing is personal. But the best way to know me is through my music. You know my music, you know me, period.” Alaskan fans, new and old, will have a chance to hear Nellie play next summer although tour dates have not yet solidified. So, in the meantime, do yourself a favor, pour yourself some bourbon, slip on your headphones, and put on the newly released CD, Never Did What I Shoulda Done. Don’t forget the candied lemons. n

Never Did What I Shoulda Done is on Amazon and iTunes, and will soon be available at nellieclaymusic.com.

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December 3 - December 9, 2015

THEATER REVIEW BY LEE HARRINGTON

ITH THE LIGHTS DOWN LOW, Matt Fernandez’s eyes implore the audience to awaken their reverence. “Marley was dead,” he says, his head crowned in a top hat, a deep red scarf tossed around his neck. The stage’s backdrop, crafted with loving care by Margret Hugi-Lewis and her team, showed the tenement rows that Tiny Tim might stroll, or the ghost of Christmas past perhaps … but no one expected Austin James Roach in a green satin frilly shirt to come out, complete with a bowl of fruit on his head. The comedy production of Every Christmas Story Ever Told (and Then Some) has come to Cyrano’s Theatre with a bang, starring three delightful actors who each dance through bundles of characters in an attempt to do every BHC. Beloved Holiday Classic. From It’s a Wonderful Life to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Frosty the Snowman and A Charlie Brown Christmas, Fernandez, Roach and Gaunt take this hilarious mashup by the comedy trio of Carleton, Fitzgerald and Alvarez and make it their own. Whether it is as Jacob Marley or as Bob Marley, Jeremy Gaunt’s energy of confusion and delight creates the impetus for the plotline to take off. After all, he argues, haven’t we all seen A Christmas Carol? Why do it again? Taking the analysis further, the detail-minded Roach points out that there are so many other Christmas ful choice for an evening of entertainment. stories, and why not try Taking the Brittany Spears jokes out of Cheap laughs, easy fun, the original script, Pond worked with her to give them all space for the sharing. “But tradi- and Gustav the Green- comedy trio to remove the detritus and tions are … traditional” in with some new material involving nosed Reingoat make Every fill argues Fernandez, his eyes politics, music and the story of Hanuksimultaneously imploring Christmas Story a delight- kah. Summarizing it succinctly they said and angry. No one will be like many Jewish holidays it is “They ful choice for an evening of that taking A Christmas Carol tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat.” Long entertainment. away, he argues. laugh-a-minute style comedies can be It is easy for mashuptough because the material has to match up type plays to fall short. Taking the Complete Works of Shake- with the actor’s capacity to deliver, but the ratio of joke to despeare (abridged) model and applying it to Christmas is a livery was high, with almost every punchline getting dozens bit cheesy, but in the hands of director Teresa Pond, cheesy of laughs. Even if individual jokes don’t appeal to each indican be a good thing. Cheap laughs, easy fun, and Gustav the vidual, there was diverse enough material for everyone to go Green-nosed Reingoat make Every Christmas Story a delight- away with their funny-bone having been thoroughly tickled.

THIS WEEKEND CHERUB Thur. Dec. 3, 8:45 p.m./ Bear Tooth Theatrepub/ $30 in advance, $35 day of/ beartooththeatre.net. Cherub is a sexy electro-pop duo that is the dance love-child of ‘80s funk and pop-music from the future. The members of Cherub, Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber, share a love for honest original music and vibrant live performance, with a common goal to share a little bit of sex, a little bit of drugs, and a whole lot of love with people across the globe. THE ICE AGE Fri. Dec. 4, 6 to 8 p.m./ Alaska Museum of Science and Nature/ free for members, included with general admission. Alaska was not completely covered in giant ice sheets during the last ice age. The Ice Age exhibit explores the prehistoric predators and prey that roamed Alaska’s grassy interior then and today. A photographic journey by Alaskan artist Carl Battreal reveals the wonders of this geographical landscape. Exhibit ongoing. DON FLEMONS Fri. Dec. 4 & Sat. Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m./ Sydney Laurence Theatre & Vagabond Blues, Palmer/ $32.50 & $29.25/ centertix.net for tickets. Dom Flemons is the “American

December 3 - December 9, 2015

Songster,” pulling from traditions of old-time folk music to create new sounds, and co-founder of the Carolina Chocolate Drops. Flemons plays banjo, guitar, harmonica, fife, bones, bass drum, snare drum and quills, in addition to singing. Presented by Whistling Swan Productions. ANCHORAGE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL Fri. Dec. 4 through Sun. Dec. 13/ anchoragefilmfestival.org for more information. The Anchorage International Film Festival is a non-profit organization founded in 2001 and committed to independent filmmaking. Hundreds of volunteers, filmmakers, artists, sponsors, partners, and supporters make it possible to put on a two-week event every December. What started with just 2,000 attendees in 2001 has grown to over 9,000 attendees annually. MADELINE & THE BAD HAT Sat. Dec. 5, 2 p.m./ Atwood Concert Hall/ centertix.net. Trace the adventures of a young Parisian girl who—despite starting off on the wrong foot with a mischievous new neighbor—eventually learns that first impressions aren’t everything. This amusing tale delivers a charming message for mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons alike. Presented by Alaska Junior Theater.

KING ISLAND CHRISTMAS: A MUSICAL CELEBRATION Through Tue. Dec. 22/ Cyrano’s Off Center Playhouse/ $23-$25/ cyranos. com for more information. As a Christmas story, King Island Christmas has all of the elements for success: lifting music, a story of overcoming hardship to bring Christmas to the people, warmth, an original setting, a refreshing lack of sentimentality, humor, a religious element that interweaves with one of neighborliness, and the Alaska Native respect for the environment. WAKA FLOCKA FLAME Fri. Dec. 11 at 8 p.m./ The Fiesta Room (18+ and 21+ available)/ $56.57$169.71/ www.tixr.com. Waka Flocka Flame doesn’t give a fuck about what you think. The riotous rapper, who penned hits like “O Let’s Do It” and “No Hands,” has undergone an artistic transformation since his 2010 bombastic debut “Flockaveli.” He’s experimented with his sound but always with the focus on growing as a rapper. WALLS OF JERICHO Fri. Dec. 11, 8 p.m. & Sat. Oct. 12 at 4 and 8:30 p.m./ Chilkoot Charlie’s (21+) & Anchorage Community Works (All ages)/ $20 in advance, $25 at the door/ flavorus.com. Walls of Jericho is a hardcore, metal

With a past involvement at Scared Scriptless, Fernandez’s impressive improvisational skills show in the segments that have a bit more audience interaction, even as he maintains his character’s aura of frustration. This is especially true when teamed up with Roach, whose in-character nerdiness create spaces full of eye-rolling puns. Adding in Gaunt’s goofiness makes for three performers who dance together with grace. Literally. The dance number, choreographed by Kristen Vierthaler, is spectacular, and not just because their shorts sparkle. Having three actors maintain their comedic facial expressions while doing a dance number was worth every applause they received. The play fills in between costume changes with funny, but true, pieces of Christmas trivia from around the world. Learn about the kidnappings of misbehaving Spanish children, the flogging of German children, and of course, that St. Nicholas was the patron saint of murderers. Unfortunately, they chose to include one false set from Australia, which was a disappointment after such excellent work, but they pulled back from that approach. Some scenarios stand out more than others. Fernandez’s deeply impressive speed-dance between the Narrator role and George Baily. Roach’s diverse direct interactions with the audience. Gaunt’s incredibly creepy Frosty the Snowman. And Fernandez’s eyeballs, which in the comedic interplay were almost their own actor, especially as the shocked Grinch. But the real reason to see Every Christmas Story is the musical number. Also known as All the Carols Ever Sung, any piece that begins with a line like “jingle bells, silver bells, twelve days of Christmas,” is already expected to be good. This beautiful trio delivers the complex song, at the end of a very packed play, with impressive style, sweetness, and huge laughs as well. Come for the comedy, stay for the laughs, and be ready for some improv surprises. n

Every Christmas Story Ever Told (And Then Some) runs through December 22 at Cyrano’s Playhouse. Tickets are available at Cyranos.org.

and rock band from Detroit formed in 1998. Avoiding the pressure to create conventional or mainstream rock music, they have continued to experiment with their musical stylings. BLIND BOYS OF ALABAMA Sat. Dec. 12, 7:30 p.m./ Atwood Concert Hall/ $32.50-$66/ centertix.net for tickets. The Blind Boys of Alabama have been raising their voices together for over 70 years. Their special brand of Southern Gospel has wowed everyone from U.S. presidents to esteemed musical artists with whom they’ve recorded, including Tom Petty, Willie Nelson, Prince, Peter Gabriel and Vince Gill. HILAND MOUNTAIN CORRECTIONAL CENTER WOMEN’S STRING ORCHESTRA HOLIDAY CONCERT Sat. Dec. 15, 1:30 p.m./ Hiland Mountain Correctional Center/ $30; must be purchased in advance/ centertix.net Members of the Anchorage Symphony Orchestra play with the Hiland musicians in the concert, along with a featured guest musician each year. This year’s guest musician is violist Sheila Browne. A CHRISTMAS CAROL Fri. Dec. 18 to Sun. Dec. 27/ Discovery Theatre/ $47-$53.75/ centertix.net for tickets and showtimes.

This holiday season, witness Ebenezer Scrooge’s transformation in a new adaptation by Arlitia Jones and Michael Haney. Ebenezer Scrooge is a greedy businessman with no place in his life for kindness, compassion, or charity. When four ghosts visit Scrooge, he is warned to change his ways or face a miserable afterlife. ANDREW W.K. Sat. Dec. 19, doors at 8 p.m./ Williwaw/ $35 in advance, $45 day of show/ williwawsocial.com. 106.5 KWHL and Williwaw proudly present Andrew W.K. live with his full band for the first time in Alaska. This is a benefit for Alaska Toys for Tots and the official party for Anchorage’s Santacon 2015. Local support from T.I.A. and more. REEL BIG FISH Thur. Dec. 31, doors at 9 p.m. with early entry at 7 p.m./ $50 general admission, $60 day of show; $100 for VIP package/ williwawsocial.com. Williwaw will ring in their first New Year’s with ska-punk legends Reel Big Fish and local guests Nervis Rex! Dinner and show package includes: early entry at 7 p.m., four-course dinner, sponsored beverages from Heineken and Jose Cuervo, and rooftop access for town square fireworks at 8 p.m.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE SEA TURTLES FOREVER: SHOPPING FOR A CAUSE— Shopping for a Cause will see an all day event in which 10 percent of total sales will be donated to Sea Turtles Forever, a non-profit whose mission is to protect and restore healthy marine environments. Come support the sea turtles and buy some fun holiday gifts. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. (Grassroots Fair Trade Store, 1300 W. Northern Lights Blvd.)

SANTA PHOTO EXPERIENCE AT ANCHORAGE 5TH AVENUE MALL—It’s time for holiday photos with Santa. Father Christmas will be at the Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall to help create special memories that last a lifetime. Let your children experience that much-anticipated, magical moment when they get a personal audience with Santa himself. Find Santa on Level 2 near the JC Penney entrance and the Go Calendars, Go Games, Go Toys store. Free, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. (5th Avenue Mall, 320 W. 5th Ave.) THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL—Humpy’s will be showing all the games on the big screen each Thursday night. Come get a burger, grab a beer, and watch America’s sport. This week’s challengers: Green Bay Packers take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. 4:30 p.m. (Humpy’s, 610 W. 6th Ave.) YIN YOGA— Explore Creative Movement as you move slowly between Yoga postures. This class will assist in creating muscular balance, strength and flexibility as well as facilitating deep relaxation. Yoga Classes are located in the Atwood Art Room. 4:30 p.m. (Alaska Pacific University, 4101 University Dr.) OUR PERFECT WILD— Kaylene Johnson-Sullivan discusses her book, recently published by University of Alaska Press. Our Perfect Wild examines the life of Ray and Barbara Bane who in the 1960s worked as teachers in Barrow and Wainwright, Alaska. Joining Kaylene via Skype will be Ray Bane, who now resides in Hawaii. There is free parking for this event in the Library Lot, Library NE Lot and the East Garage. Free, 6 to 8 p.m. (UAA/APU Consortium Library Rm. 307, Alumni Dr.) SMITHSONIAN SPOTLIGHT: ALASKA NATIVE STORYTELLING IN THEATRE— Alaska Native storytelling is a powerful tool used by all Alaska Native cultures for many millennia. Does

traditional storytelling continue to have a place in the modern world? Alaska Native theatre company Dark Winter Productions explores this question. The Smithsonian Spotlight lecture series features Alaska Native artists, scholars and researchers. Free, 7 p.m. (Anchorage Museum, 625 C St.) EVERY CHRISTMAS STORY EVER TOLD (AND THEN SOME!)—Instead of performing Charles Dickens’ beloved holiday classic for the umpteenth time, three actors decide to perform every Christmas story ever told plus Christmas traditions from around the world. Seasonal icons from ancient times to topical pop-culture and every carol ever sung are abound. Presented by Cyrano’s Theatre Company. $23 - $25.50, 7 p.m. (Cyrano’s Off Center Playhouse, 413 D St.) TRIP REPORT & BRIT ROCK FILM TOUR 2015—Following the success of last year’s inaugural 60-venue tour, leading film maker Alastair Lee presents the 2015 Brit Rock Film Tour. Focused this year on Alastair’s native subject matter—mountains—the tour will feature three stunning films: Wild Atlantic, A charming and inspirational montage by Belfast-based climbing photographer Craig Hiller; Operation Moffat, which takes inspiration and wit from the colourful climbing life of Britain’s first female mountain guide; and The Citadel, the world’s first mountaineering doc shot entirely in 4k. $5, 7 p.m. (Tap Root Public House, 3300 Spenard Rd.) PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE—The UAA Percussion Ensemble’s exciting Winter Percussion Extravanganza Concert will feature seven of Southcentral Alaska’s most dynamic percussionists. The concert program includes the hot world beat grooves of Cuban mambo, Brazilian samba and Baion body percussion, music for percussive buckets, and exciting solos by Clint Dallas on vibes, Francisco Badillo on drum set, and Naomi Endres on marimba. Free, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. (UAA Fine Arts Building, 3700 Alumni Dr.)

MUSIC BOB PARSONS, 5 to 9 p.m. (Pubhouse 1200 L St.) LIVE MUSIC, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Varsity Grill, 3550 Providence Dr.) FIONA ROSE & NAKED MABEL, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd.)

Lounge, 901 W. 6th Ave.) DJ MIXTA B, 10 p.m. (Pioneer Bar, 739 W. 4th Ave.) DJ ANTHEM, 10 p.m. (Gaslight Lounge, 721 W. 4th Ave.) HIGH LONESOME SOUND, 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.)

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE FIRST FRIDAY—The start of every month of the year is marked by this social staple. First Friday is the day where galleries, eateries and other establishments around town reveal the works of artists, both local and worldwide, to the general public for display. Along the way you can grab a bite to eat, sip some wine and catch up with friends. For complete First Friday listings, check out page 13. THE NUTCRACKER BALLET—The holiday season wouldn’t be complete without The Nutcracker. Clara’s dreams will transport you to the Snow Kingdom and the Land of the Sweets with the Sugar Plum Fairy. Drift away into this beloved story with its magical sets and exquisite choreography that can be enjoyed by all ages. There’s no better way to kick off the holiday season with your family. $37 - $81.50, 2 p.m. (Atwood Concert Hall, 621 W. 6th Ave.) CLENDANIEL HOLIDAY STUDIO SALE—Clendaniel will be selling oil paintings, prints, posters, magnets and greeting cards during our holiday studio sale. Receive a free ‘99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall’ Poster with a purchase of $20 or more. You can also enter a daily drawing to win a Clendaniel print of your choice. Stop by to check out a real painting studio, and come away with unique, locallymade gifts or talk to the artist to commission a painting for someone special. Free, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. (4th Avenue Marketplace, 333 W. 4th Ave., Ste. 4) ALASKA DEMOCRATIC PARTY HOLIDAY AUCTION—Bid on unique live and silent auction items including Alaskan art, a murder mystery dinner, wilderness adventures, fishing & rafting trips, and Hawaiian vacations. Free, 5:30 p.m. (Viking Hall, 8141 Briarwood St.)

Friday. This month’s featured beers are a showdown of local breweries’ standout stout beers. $7 per flight, 6 p.m. (Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, 625 C St.) ASTRONOMY ALIVE: VAN GOGH SHOW—Curious about what’s in the night sky? Take a guided tour through space and time in this live planetarium show, customized to highlight current astronomical occurrences. Galaxies, nebulae, binary stars: all features of the universe are explored except black holes—no one can see black holes. This special presentation, held in conjunction with “Van Gogh Alive,” focuses on light and color in astronomy and in the night sky. $5, 6:30 p.m. (Anchorage Museum, 625 C St.) FRIDAY NIGHT MAGIC— Looking for a way to play Magic while meeting new friends and winning cool foil prize cards? Friday Night Magic is designed to bring casual players together on Friday nights to play for fun in a less-competitive event. Try it out and discover why Friday night is the best night of the week. All are welcome to come to play without joining the tournament. 6:30 to 11 p.m. at Bosco’s. (2606 Spenard Rd.) FROSTEASE BURLESQUE: THE REPEAL—Calling all bootleggers and boozers – drape yourself in your finest vintage fashions and join Frostease Burlesque as they celebrate the repeal of prohibition! Striptease, live singing, hooping, fringe, glitter and prizes await you as we pay homage to America’s favorite pastime—drinking! Visit taprootalaska.com for ticket information. Friday, Dec. 4 and Saturday, Dec. 5. 7 p.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.)

ALASKA ACES VS. COLORADO EAGLES—Anchorage’s hometown hockey team is back in town. They’ll be going up against the Colorado Eagles. This is the first of three games. $12 - $34, 7:15 p.m. (Sullivan Arena, 1600 Gambell St.)

MUSIC THE DIAMONDS, 8:30 p.m. (The Lofts, 239 W. 4th Ave.)

IRISH MUSIC, 7:30 p.m. (McGinley’s Pub, 645 G St., Ste. 101)

UNDER 21 OPEN MIC NIGHT, 5:30 to 8 p.m. (Middle Way Cafe, 1200 W. Northern Lights Blvd.)

OPEN MIC, 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Anchorage City Limits, 239 W. 4th Ave.)

PIANO WITH MISHA SHIMEK, 6:30 p.m. (Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd.)

KOOT’S AT KARAOKE, 10 p.m. (Chilkoot Charlie’s, 2435 Spenard Rd.)

DJ ANTHEM, 9 p.m. (Flattop, 600 W. 6th Ave.)

MOTOWN THURSDAYS, 9 p.m. (LED Ultra Lounge, 901 W. 6th Ave.) THURSDAY TAKEOVER WITH DJ CHRIS ICARUS, 10 p.m. to 12:59 a.m. (LED Ultra

BATTLE OF THE BREWERIES—A part of the Museum’s dining series, BOTB invites you to pick your favorite brown ales during First

HOUSE SESSIONS W/ DJ ADAM J, TONY H & FRIENDS, 9 p.m. (SubZero Microlounge, 612 F St.) ME AND THE DEVIL, 9 p.m. (Gaslight Lounge, 721 W. 4th Ave.)

LIVEWIRE, 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. (Flight Deck Bar & Lounge, 842 W International Airport Rd.) NO FILTER FRIDAYS WITH DJ 3RD GEORGE, 10 p.m., (LED Ultra Lounge, 901 W. 6th Ave.) WEEKLY FRIDAY PLAY PARTY, 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. (ACAL 225 E 5th Ave.) SPENERDS, 8 to 11:30 p.m. (Hard Rock Cafe Anchorage, 415 E St.)

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 5 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE MEDIEVAL SWORD AND BUCKLER CLASS—Fiddlebow Fechtschule offers a weekly class on the use of the medieval sword and buckler. Each class incorporates the development of fundamental skills, technique exchange and conditioning in a relaxed but mindful atmosphere. No prior martial arts or fencing experience is necessary. Email chris@fiddlebowfechtschule. com to make arrangements to watch or participate. Drop-ins will be flayed. Free, 9 a.m. to noon. (Anchorage Dome, 6501 Changepoint Dr.) INDOOR FLEA MARKET FOR LOVE INC ANCHORAGE—Shop for handmade and secondhand items, and beautiful repurposed items from Re:MADE at this monthly indoor flea market to support Love INC Anchorage. Call to donate furniture or other items for this or next month’s indoor flea market. Table space is available. Free, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Crosspoint Community Church, 1920 W. Dimond Blvd.) ALASKA NATIVE HERITAGE CENTER HOLIDAY BAZAAR—Explore the art and craftsmanship of Alaska Native artists. Beading, baskets, ornaments, jewelry, regalia, carvings, outerwear and more. Find a unique gift for everyone on your holiday list and meet the artists. Shop the Heritage Gift Shop for even more Alaska Native art and gifts. Free, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Alaska Native Heritage Center, 8800 Heritage Center Dr.) EARTH, MOON, AND SUN— Coyote has a razor-sharp wit, but he’s confused about what he sees in the sky. Join this character in a show that discusses American Indian starlore, lunar phases and space exploration. $4 - $6 plus museum admission, 10:30 a.m. (Anchorage Museum, 625 C St.) LIGHT: BEYOND THE BULB & ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR 2014—Light: Beyond the Bulb celebrates the many forms of light and helps us to understand the world we inhabit and the universe we live in, and is part of our exhibit located in the Discovery Center. Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2014 celebrates the international photography competition and showcases

winning images from last year’s competition. Saturdays and Sundays through Sunday, Dec. 27. Included with admission, 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. (Anchorage Museum 625 C. St.) ALASKA POKÉMON LEAGUE WINTER 2016 LAUNCH PARTY—This is a video game oriented league with optional LARPing wide open to the Pokémon playing public. The purpose of the event is to invite new people to come and learn more about the League and get some free stuff. Gym Leaders that can make the time will be there, but otherwise everyone will be new. For more information visit akpokemonleague.org. Free, 1 p.m. (Bosco’s, 2301 Spenard Rd.)

HANDMADE HOLIDAY BREWHAHA—Join several of Anchorage’s favorite artists for a one-of-a-kind handmade holiday show. Shop the handmade wares while sipping on some fabulous locally brewed suds. Free, 1 to 7 p.m. (Resolution Brewing Company, 3024 Mountain View Dr.) MADELINE & THE BAD HAT—Trace the adventures of a young Parisian girl who, despite starting off on the wrong foot with a mischievous new neighbor, eventually learns that first impressions aren’t everything. This amusing tale delivers a charming message for mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons alike. $19 - $25.75, 2 p.m. (Atwood Concert Hall, 621 W. 6th Ave.) LIFE: A COSMIC STORY— How did life on Earth begin? Find out on this journey through time. Witness key events since the Big Bang that set the stage for life. See the first stars ignite, galaxies coalesce and entire worlds take shape. On a young Earth, two scenarios for the dawn of life are presented—one near a turbulent, deep-sea hydrothermal vent, and the other in a primordial hot puddle on a volcanic island. $4-$6 plus museum admission, 3 p.m. (Anchorage Museum, 625 C St.) PUMP UP THE KIDS CHARITY: 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS PUB CRAWL—Collaborative Minds and Family Tree Presents are hosting the 4th Annual Twelve Days of Christmas Pub Crawl to raise money for the Pump Up The Kids charity program run by 94.7 KZND that benefits foster teens in Alaska. Twelve downtown bars and businesses are participating: PlayHouse, McGinley’s Pub, Pioneer Bar, Mad Myrna’s, The Gaslight Lounge, Williwaw, Darwin’s Theory, Humpy’s Great Alaskan Ale House, Flattop Pizza + Pool, SubZero Microlounge, Brown Bag Sandwich Co. and The Avenue Bar. 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. (Downtown) ALASKA ACES VS. COLORADO EAGLES—Anchorage’s

December 3 - December 9, 2015

change, big oil’s impact on the Alaskan ecosystem and the failing salmon industry. Interwoven between strangers discussing these concerns is footage of the Higman-McKittrick family’s journey shot in the style of home video. These raw moments between the family are the best parts of the film. Young Katmai especially shines; as the elEART OF ALASKA follows couple Bretwood “Hig” Higman and Erin dest child, he is able to walk the entire 800McKitrick and their two children, mile journey on his own two feet. Imaginative daughter Lituya and son Katmai, as they take and charismatic, he has conversations with a three-and-a-half month trip up Cook Inlet his father about the shape of the clouds as well using nothing but packrafts and their own as the monster hiding in the mudflats Katmai two feet. Backed by stunning cinematogra- calls the “muddadon.” His childish wonder phy, the setting is simply Alaskan: There are adds an element of humanity to the film that, orangey-blue sunsets, deep blue slushy tides without him, would be sorely lacking. During their stop in Anchorage, Higman and quiet, grassy plains. and McKittrick attempt to explain theme of their family trip along Where the audience expects the the Cook Inlet. It’s a simple question: a heartwarming tale of a fam- What does the future hold for Alaska? ily sticking it out through the And while the idea of having a theme for their adventure is noble, it doesn’t tough Alaskan coastal wilder- translate well into a film narrative ness, there is instead a bar- that is already crowded with too many ideas. Overall, Bjørn Olson’s Heart of rage of propaganda mixed in Alaska has just that—a lot of heart, that neither fits nor belongs. but it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. There are entire portions of But trouble brews quickly in the open- the trip the film only touches on by drawing ing minutes as the film tries to tie together a lines on a map. That missing footage—those adventures muddled theme of social and environmental activism with nurturing one’s family in na- passing Anchor Point and Ninilchik, the ture. The idea of making a film about the po- shots of the family of four moving along litical issues facing Alaska doesn’t mesh with Turnagain Arm—would’ve made a comthe narrative of the opening credits. Where pletely different film and a much better story. the audience expects a heartwarming tale of a Instead of being a convoluted film about a family sticking it out through the tough Alas- family trekking Cook Inlet as a backdrop to kan coastal wilderness, there is instead a bar- social activism about climate change, Heart rage of propaganda mixed in where it neither of Alaska would’ve instead been a film about how two outdoorsy people made a life in Selfits nor belongs. Using a mix of family, friends and local dovia, Alaska with their two children and deexperts Heart of Alaska attempts to address cided to raise them immersed in the beauty Cook Inlet conservation efforts, climate of the Alaskan wilderness. n

FILM REVIEW BY ZAKIYA MCCUMMINGS

Heart of Alaska shows on Sunday, December 13 at 11 a.m. at Bear Tooth.

BY MATT IVERSON

IVEN IT IS in its 15th year, the Anchorage International Film Festival (AIFF) seems to be doing well for itself. Festival Director Rebecca Pottebaum is not content to rest on that success, though, and would like to increase partnerships and community engagement within town as well as around the state. “We could potentially have a bigger reach,” Pottebaum remarks, noting that AIFF is in a unique position to showcase films more relevant to Anchorage’s diverse population than most standard cinema fare. This includes films from around the world, films made by teenagers, and LGBT films. One collaboration, with the Alaska Teen Media Institute, will showcase films made by Alaska youth. The “After School Special” runs on December 10 at Bear Tooth, offering young Alaskan filmmakers a venue and an all-ages audience for

their work. In an additional partnership, the Anchorage Museum will host a free screening of several familyfriendly films on December 5, making that portion of the festival accessible to lowerincome families.

groups. While Pottebaum stresses that the primary criterion for inclusion in the festival is a film’s overall artistic merit, she notes that some of the volunteer programmers, when deciding between two equally worthy films, may opt for the one whose language is represented in town. This year’s lineup includes work from 22 different countries and five continents. Pottebaum also envisions a traveling minifestival of sorts, bringing some of the year’s highlights to other communities around the state. “In Alaska, more than any other state I’ve lived in, there’s a genuine sense of wanting to be involved,” she says, and mentions that she has already received strong initial responses from groups in Homer, Skagway, and Fairbanks. “When people start seeing what we are trying to do, and how a film festival, no matter how small, can impact an Alaskan community in the winter months, we’ll have a lot more communities asking to be on board.” n

This year’s lineup includes work from 22 different countries and five continents. There has also been continued effort to showcase films whose content involves gay, lesbian, and transgender issues. Identity, Inc. will co-host a “Gay-La” reception Tuesday, December 8 at the Bear Tooth, following the screening of two such films (for details of these events, see the festival guide, page 29). Aside from these efforts, Pottebaum would like to see AIFF extend its reach, and thinks it can. One way is to show more foreign films in the native languages of Anchorage’s many ethnic

anchorage international film festival DEC 4

EADWEARD. Doors @ 7pm Opening Remarks @ 8pm The film festival will begin with the Opening Night screening of “Eadweard,” at the BearTooth Theatrepub, on Friday, Dec. 4. Gala doors open at 7 PM; film and opening remarks at 8 PM.

1230 W. 27th Ave

907-276-4200

For a complete listing of this week’s movies, visit beartooththeatre.net

December 3 - December 9, 2015

Eadweard is the story of a world-famous, turn-ofthe-century photographer, Eadweard Muybridge, later to be known as the “Godfather of Cinema.”

DEC 7

ABOVE AND BELOW. 5:30pm Far, far away and out of sight, that’s where April, Dave, Cindy, Rick and the Godfather are creating life on their own terms. From the depths of the flood channels under Sin City, to a reclaimed military bunker in the middle of the dusty, heated Californian nowhere land to beyond the stratosphere where Mars now lives on earth. Each individual has been flung into periling circumstances on this rollercoaster ride called life.

DEC 7

JASMINE. 8:00pm Nearly a year after Jasmine’s death, Leonard returns home to Hong Kong, determined to move on with his life once and for all. He searches for a new job, attends grief support group meetings, and reconnects with Grace Wang (Hong Kong Film Award-winner Eugenia Yuan, ‘Revenge of the Green Dragons,’ ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: The Green Legend’), a woman from his past.

hometown hockey team is back in town. They’ll be going up against the Colorado Eagles. This is the second of three games. $12 - $34, 7:15 p.m. (Sullivan Arena, 1600 Gambell St.) SCARED SCRIPTLESS IMPROV—Scared Scriptless Improv is Alaska’s premier improv comedy troupe. The troupe performs every second and fourth Saturdays of the month at the Snow Goose Theater in Anchorage. Live improv has a heightened intensity, a voyeuristic glee that comes from watching comedy without a net. A close-contact brand of improv, as fast and furious as a video game, with words and movements thrown out in a continuous mix of voices, accents and energetic motions. Through Sat. Dec. 26, $10.25 - $12.50. 8 p.m. (717 W. 3rd Ave.)

MUSIC SINGER-SONGWRITER SATURDAY, 8 p.m. to late (Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd.)

DJ JACOB MATTIE, 9 p.m. (SubZero Microlounge, 612 F St.) DJ SPENCER LEE, 9 p.m. (Flattop, 600 W. 6th Ave.) LIVE MUSIC, 9 to 11:30 p.m. (Alaskan Office Lounge, 545 E. Northern Lights Blvd.) LIVEWIRE, 9:30 to 11:30 p.m. (Flight Deck Bar & Lounge, 842 W International Airport Rd.) SAUCY YODA & MYRA MAINS, 9:30 p.m. (Flying Chinook, 4610 Spenard Rd.) DJ MARK, 10 p.m. (Gaslight Lounge, 721 W. 4th Ave.) SABOTAGE SATURDAYS WITH DJ CHRIS ICARUS, 10 p.m. (LED Ultra Lounge, 901 W. 6th Ave.) I LIKE ROBOTS,10 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. (Tap Root, 3300 Spenard Rd.) SPACEFEST, 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Anchorage Community Works, 349 E. Ship Creek Ave.)

Mall. Last year’s event raised more than $15,000 worth of goodwill in three hours. Think about a bizarre bazaar: an alternative gift fair. There are still rooms filled with booths, but the “vendors” are nonprofit organizations and charities. Instead of buying more material gifts, shoppers can donate to local non-profits on behalf of friends, family or others on their holiday gift list. “Gifts” are in various price ranges beginning at $5. Shoppers receive decorative gift cards to present to the person in whose honor the gift was purchased. Free, noon to 3 p.m. (Congregation Beth Sholom, 7525 E. Northern Lights Blvd.) ANCHORAGE TABLETOP GAMING—Interested in playing board games? Bosco’s invites you to bring your shiny new games as well as your dusty old games and try out some of theirs. This group will meet every Sunday, excluding the second Sunday of each month. Free, 1 to 5 p.m. (Bosco’s, 2301 Spenard Rd.) CIRQUE DE HANUKKAH— Featuring an incredible aerial display by “The SkyRiders,” high-flying Guinness World Record holders and NBA halftime performers, in their Alaskan debut! Watch mindboggling maneuvers, with flips and twists that defy gravity. Enjoy Israeli Shakshuka bar, catered by a renowned chef from New York. Let the kids have a blast in the Dreidel bounce-house, and create fresh oil with a giant olive oil press. $5 - $10, 5 p.m. (Egan Convention Center, 555 W. 5th Ave.) GEEKS WHO DRINK—Simply, a quiz game played in a pub. It’s an Anglo-Irish tradition, but the goal is the same: to foster friendly competition, and promote social drinking, a noble cause indeed. Free, 6 p.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.) ALASKA ACES VS. COLORADO EAGLES—Anchorage’s hometown hockey team is back in town. They’ll be going up against the Colorado Eagles. This is the last of three games. $12 - $34, 7:15 p.m. (Sullivan Arena, 1600 Gambell St.) BEER PONG—Koots’ Sunday social, beer pong is an old sport for beerheads everywhere. Brings your friends, make a team, and play for a night of shooting the shit with the crew. Hosted by DJ Anthem and Ref Kim, the night’s winner takes the cash and Koot’s gold cards. $5 cover per team, 9 p.m. (Chilkoot Charlie’s, 2435 Spenard Rd.)

MUSIC PIANO WITH ERIN PESZNECKER, 1 p.m. (Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd.) SPENERDS, 8 to 11:30 p.m. (Hard Rock Cafe Anchorage, 415 E St.)

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 6 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE MITZVAH MALL—Congregation Beth Sholom is hosting Anchorage’s annual Mitzvah

BLUES JAM, 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.) DOMINGOS DE CLASICADAS WITH DJ ZAYY, 11 p.m. (LED Ultra Lounge, 901 W. 6th Ave.)

MONDAY, DECEMBER 7 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL—Humpy’s will be showing all the games on the big screen each Monday night. So come get a burger, grab a beer, and watch America’s sport. This week’s challengers: Dallas Cowboys take on the Washington Redskins at FedExField. 4:30 p.m. (Humpy’s, 610 W. 6th Ave.) POTTERY CLASSES—Take a pottery class for fun, relaxation, or therapy. Make something for yourself or to give to your friends. This is a fully instructed, wheelthrow pottery class; full class schedule available at midnightpotter.com. $300 $330, 6 to 9 p.m. (Midnight Potter Studios, 5861 Arctic Blvd, Ste. F) MEDITATION—In this busy chaotic world, it is very important for our day-to-day happiness and peace that we learn how to control our mind. A class designed to show how to apply simple meditation techniques and basic Buddhist psychology in the midst of a normal, modern lifestyle. $5 - $10, 7 to 8:30 p.m. (Namaste North Yoga Studio, 508 W. 2nd Ave.)

MEDIEVAL SWORD AND BUCKLER CLASS—Fiddlebow Fechtschule offers a weekly class on the use of the medieval sword and buckler. Each class incorporates the development of fundamental skills, technique exchange and conditioning in a relaxed but mindful atmosphere. No prior martial arts or fencing experience is necessary. Email chris@fiddlebowfechtschule.com to make arrangements to watch or participate. Drop-ins will be flayed. Free, 7 to 9:30 p.m. (Anchorage Dome, 6501 Changepoint Dr.)

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE YU-GI-OH TOURNAMENT AND OPEN PLAY—Born from the game Duel Monsters within the original Japanese manga, the Yu-Gi-Oh card game is a battle-based gameplay where players duel each other using monster face cards. Come and try it out for free, or if you’re a more serious dueler, bring your decks along. Occasional sealed deck tournaments may come with a higher charge. Free for casual play, $6 - 7 for tournament play, 3 p.m. (Bosco’s, 2301 Spenard Rd.) GAME NIGHT AT SUBZERO MICROLOUNGE—Every Tuesday evening SubZero Microlounge hosts a game night featuring some of America’s favorite games, including Clue, Life, Cards Against Humanity and Scattergories just to name a few. Game Night starts when the bar opens for cocktail hour at 4 p.m. and goes until closing. Make sure to come early to call “dibs” on your favorite game. (612 F St.) EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS—Starting from ancient times, learn about the history of planetary discovery, especially that of Pluto, and how it has led to an amazing mission to explore the Kuiper Belt. Explore the New Horizons spacecraft, its mission to dwarf planet Pluto, and how the scientific method applies to our understanding of the solar system. Every TuesdaySunday through Oct. 31. $4 - $6 plus museum admission, 4 p.m. (Anchorage Museum, 625 C St.) ART KIDS STUDIO—Come learn to draw, paint and sculpt. Art Kids Studio Classes are ongoing and designed to evolve and build progressive art skills in creative self expression. Art Kids are encouraged to experiment and investigate new creative ideas and a variety of media and techniques. Visit artkidsstudio.com for more

information. $125 - $175, 4:15 to 6:15 p.m. (Art Kids Studio, Fireweed & A Street) GEEKS WHO DRINK—Simply, a quiz game played in a pub. It’s an Anglo-Irish tradition, but the goal is the same: to foster friendly competition, and promote social drinking, a noble cause indeed. Free, 7 p.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.)

MUSIC BOB PARSONS & FRIENDS, 6 p.m. (Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd.) BLUES JAM, 8 p.m. (Anchorage City Limits in The Lofts, 239 W. 4th Ave.)

POTTERY CLASSES—Take a pottery class for fun, relaxation, or therapy. Make something for yourself or to give to your friends. Fully instructed classes in wheel thrown pottery offered at Midnight Potter Studios in Anchorage, AK. For more information go online at MidnightPotter.com. $300 to $330 per month, 6 to 9 p.m. (Midnight Potter Studios 5861 Arctic Blvd.) TRIVIA NIGHT AT THE WHALE’S TAIL BISTRO & WINE BAR— See how smart you are and head down to the Whale’s Tail Bistro & Wine Bar every Wednesday night at 7 p.m. for Trivia Night! Enjoy a selection of 32 wines on tap, local draft beers, artisanal cocktails, and classic bistro fare. Most importantly, a chance to prove you are the smartest person in the room! Prizes include cash and Hotel Captain Cook gift cards. Plus, keep an eye out for free giveaways! Free, 7 p.m. (Hotel Captain Cook, 939 W. 5th Ave.)

OPEN MIC WITH JAMES GLAVES, 9 p.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.)

MUSIC

AFTERWORK ACOUSTIC SHOW, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. (Pioneer Bar 739 W 4th Ave)

ROOTS MUSIC SPOTLIGHT WITH TODD GREBE, 8 to 11:30 p.m. (TapRoot, 3300 Spenard Rd.)

THE UNFAITHFUL LOVERS, 10 p.m. (Chilkoot Charlie’s, 2435 Spenard Rd.)

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 9 ARTS, OUTDOORS, ENTERTAINMENT, CULTURE ALASKA POLAR BARES— Orientation for prospective new members. Meet at the front of the store by the large table. Look for the large bulletin board on an easel. Military members and their spouses are invited to join. This is a Nude Recreation and Travel Club for adults. A brochure, 6-month schedule of upcoming events, and membership application will be handed out. Check out the club on meetup.com. 5:30 p.m. (Starbucks, 1142 N. Muldoon Rd., Ste. 110)

LIVE MUSIC, 8 to 11 p.m. (SubZero Microlounge, 612 F St.) OPEN DECKS AT KOOT’S, 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Chilkoot Charlie’s, 2435 Spenard Rd.) UNFAITHFUL LOVERS, 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. (Pioneer Bar 739 W 4th Ave.)

ONGOING EVENTS For a complete list of events visit anchoragepress.com YOGA ON DONATION— Open Space offers weekly yoga, dance and other drop-in classes. Come join a vibrant community and pay what you can. All levels are welcome. Classes include: MWF lunch hour classes, Ashtanga, Hips, Core Explore, Prenatal, Baby & You, 50 and Fit and much more. Find our full schedule and special events online: OpenSpaceAlaska.com/calendar/ (630 E. 57th Pl.)

U P C OM I NG E V E N T S

MUSIC

OPEN MIC JAM, 8 p.m. (Humpy’s, 610 W. 6th Ave.) KARAOKE, 9 p.m. (Gaslight Lounge, 721 W. 4th Ave.) OPEN MIC, 9 p.m. (Al’s Alaskan Inn, 7830 Old Seward Hwy.) COMEDY OPEN MIC, 8:30 p.m. (Chilkoot Charlie’s, 2435 Spenard Rd.)

MOTOWN MONDAYS, 5 p.m. (Fat Ptarmigan, 441 W. 5th Ave.) KARAOKE, 9 p.m. (Gaslight Lounge, 721 W. 4th Ave.) ERIC PESZNECKER, 6:30 p.m. (Organic Oasis, 2610 Spenard Rd.) ETERNAL COWBOYS, 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. (Chilkoot Charlie’s, 2435 Spenard Rd.)

December 3 - December 9, 2015

Poster Design: Craig Updegrove December 3 - December 9, 2015

SCREENING AND EVENT VENUES AKX Alaska Experience Theatre

MU Museum

SM Alaska Experience Theatre Small

WL Williwaw

BT Bear Tooth SGT Snow Goose Theater

* Filmmaker will be in attendance

SCREENING SCHEDULE Event

12:00

Animation Program*

Animation

1:00

Shorts - Love & Pain Program*

Shorts

4:00

Right Footed

Doc

The Descendants

Feature