Midnight Sun Festival
Concerts, Food, Games and Fun are all downtown on the longest day of the year - June 21
- Photo Courtesy: Downtown Association of Fairbanks
MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE MIDNIGHT SUN
If you live or work in Fairbanks, you’ve no doubt witnessed first-hand the magnitude of the Midnight Sun Festival. It’s impossible to be in Fairbanks on solstice weekend without hearing about the largest single-day event in Alaska. And it’s even harder to show up to the festival without running into at least a few of your neighbors, friends, and associates—most of whom spend the majority of their day perusing vendor booths, sampling street food, and stage-hopping to witness 30+ live performances. Imagine the untapped potential of this annual celebration to share your business, message, or brand with festival-goers looking... [Read more]
PARKING AUTHORITY NO MORE
The Fairbanks Parking Authority has assumed a new outlook with a new name, Golden Heart Parking Services. While it will take some time to update printed materials and web pages to reflect the name change, GHPS have made immediate improvements to downtown parking services. The GHPS has: Made more lenient its policy on enforcing expired tags. Continued a parking promotion to make on-street parking available for convenient customer access. The first three hours of parking are free in the Downtown Transportation Center and the daily maximum is $4 from May 15 – September 15. Print a poster. Changed their uniforms as an emblem of their... [Read more]
LOCAL MARKETS TO DOUBLE FOOD STAMP DOLLARS
A grant from the Alaska Division of Agriculture, Alaska Division of Public Assistance, Alaska Division of Public Health, and UAF Cooperative Extension Service will enable the Downtown Market and school farm stands of Calypso Farm & Ecology Center to double the purchasing value of QUEST benefits, commonly known as food stamps, for customers this summer until funds are exhausted. “With over 2,500 Fairbanks area residents on food stamps, there is definitely a tangible need to be met,” said Kyla Byers, Farmers Market Quest Card Program Coordinator for the Division of Agriculture. In effect, a customer using a QUEST card through this program... [Read more]
ROAD CONSTRUCTION OUTLOOK
If you’re yearning for another summer of massive road construction downtown, you won’t be disappointed. 2013 will be the second in a series of big road projects culminating in 2015, by which time many of downtown’s sidewalks, street surfaces and bridges will have been reconstructed or revitalized with millions of dollars of long-term improvements. This summer, the Wickersham Reconstruction Project takes top billing. It’s a fairly small project that will not cause downtown-wide traffic detours. But the project area, 2nd and 3rd avenues from Cowles to Barnette, will be dug deep to replace aging utility infrastructure and to bury utility... [Read more]
FIND YOUR WAY TO FIRST FRIDAY IN MAY
View First Friday in May in a larger map Consider us your personal planners for First Friday in May. The quality and quantity of downtown shows (a full list is here) can be intimidating, so we’re naming our top picks to help you make the most of your night out. Take us along on your smartphone, and use this itinerary (with map) to hit all the hotspots in this month’s rendition of First Friday in downtown Fairbanks. MAY FIRST FRIDAY 1:00PM : Kick off your First Friday with a kid-friendly day at downtown’s favorite used book store, supporting programs of the Literacy Council of Alaska. Forget-Me-Not Books (517 Gaffney Road) hosts... [Read more]
LADY LEE’S ANTIQUES RE-OPENS IN NEW SPACE
Lady Lee’s Antiques Emporium has a whole new look, after re-opening on Wednesday in a space with a long and distinguished hold in the community’s memory. New Horizons Gallery once occupied a ground floor space in the Lathrop Building along 1st Avenue, which has been vacant since the gallery’s closure in 2009. Today, you’ll find stalls of antiques, Alaskana, and vintage clothing in the former gallery space. “This was a very meaningful place to people in the community,” Kathy Lee, Owner of Lady Lee’s, acknowledges. “People were thanking (the landlord) for putting something in the New Horizons space.” Lady... [Read more]
TWO TO TANGO AT FRANK’S MENSWEAR
Don’t show up to Argentine Tango lessons at Frank’s Menswear unless you are prepared to dance. Within 15 minutes of arriving to snap a few photos for this article, my camera was in the hands of Flor Banks, tango instructor, and I was on the dance floor trying to pick up on my partner’s subtle cues, leading me counterclockwise around a patch of retail-space-turned-dance-floor in this upscale men’s clothing store. Since Argentine tango is distinguished by improvisation and the absence of specific steps or sequences, the most important first lesson is in anticipating your partner’s movements as they lean and shift... [Read more]
BECOME A DOWNTOWNER FOR $40/YEAR
Consider it your all-access pass to the very best of downtown Fairbanks. The Downtown Association of Fairbanks announces the Downtowner initiative to better connect people like you with the place you live. We’ve always kept you in the loop through social media (Facebook and Twitter), the bimonthly Downtowner newsletter, a weekly radio show on KSUA 91.5FM College, plus posters and advertising for major events like Bunnycon, Midnight Sun Festival, and First Friday. Now—we’re stepping it up by bringing you even deeper into the fold, and showering you in exclusive benefits in the form of Member Appreciation Days, product giveaways,... [Read more]
FIND YOUR POWERHOUSE AT DOWNTOWN PILATES
I imagine that even in winter’s depths, the Holistic Medical Studio is a nice place to be. On a recent April morning visit, the Studio’s warm colors and sun-struck interior was almost as good as a stroll in the forest – agreeable surroundings to sample Classical Pilates for the first time. Downtown Pilates instructors Ann Turner and Diane Ruess introduced me to a variety of Pilates apparatus they employ to take clients through one-on-one, full body and mind workouts centered on abdominal strength. Made of metal tubing, springs, leather stirrups and Medieval-seeming, the apparatus were invented by Joseph Pilates to stretch and tone... [Read more]
GET YOUR BINGO ON
Each night in downtown Fairbanks, bingo players claim their lucky seats for a go at up to $1,000 in a friendly and familiar game of chance. For newcomers, the jump from the classroom bingo they learned as kids to the big leagues can be intimidating or mysterious. What if the game goes too fast? How will I know what to do? What if I yell “Bingo!” at the wrong time? (You wouldn’t be the first—and the technical term for this is “jumping the gun” or ringing a “false alarm.”) Rhonda Vaden, Office Personnel of Downtown Bingo, helps shed some light on the nightly happenings of downtown’s bingo halls. A... [Read more]
TOP PICKS FOR APRIL FIRST FRIDAY
It’s First Friday! Where should you go? Use this handy Google map and the below itinerary to navigate your way to all the best exhibits, refreshments, and artwork in the city (or scope out the full list of shows here). 5:00PM : Park in Sadler’s parking lot on Cushman Street, and start your night with a stroll south to S Salon. You will find fourteen young artists from the Lathrop High School Art Academy who were chosen to exhibit their work all month long at the salon. Admire their talent and mull over the many creative opportunities still to come for these young artists. 5:30PM : Make your way up Cushman Street and take a right... [Read more]
NEW TOURS FOR DOWNTOWN ART AND HISTORY
Art enthusiasts and history buffs can now tour historical downtown sites and the painted steam pipes on their mobile devices. Two new self-guided walking tours are available through the Alaska App and at downtownfairbanks.com (under “Downtown Guide”). Each tour includes photos, a map, and a description of each stop along the route. If you have a smartphone, you can download this free app and take a self-guided tour of Paint the Pipes on the Fairbanks Downtown Art Tour or opt for the Downtown Fairbanks History Tour, which includes landmarks, early residences, and historical buildings. Once you’ve installed the app, open it... [Read more]
CO-OP MARKET OPENS ITS DOORS
The Co-Op Market, a cooperatively owned grocery store in downtown Fairbanks, is open for business! This one-stop shop is packed with fresh produce, specialty items, and household necessities. The store recently completed major renovations to the former Foodland building on Gaffney Road, and launched their soft opening in late afternoon on Saturday, March 30th. Inside, customers file through produce bins and shelving in wide aisles stacked high with products not previously available in the Interior, or even the state. Find more photos of the store on the Facebook page of the Downtown Association of Fairbanks. You’ll find bulk spices (Himalayan... [Read more]
HOP TO IT!
Hop to it! Break out your bunny ears, cotton tails, furry accessories and rabbit-related regalia to hop on the bunny trail for a spring pub crawl through downtown Fairbanks. Join the springtime frivolity of BUNNYCON. An adult progressive party, DOWNTOWN BUNNYCON will highlight the best of downtown Fairbanks’ nightlife – all within hopping distance. Each of the participating venues is a member of the Downtown Association intent on bringing vitality and excitement to downtown. Starting at Lavelle’s Bistro at 5 PM Saturday, March 30, thirsty bunnies will enjoy specialty cocktails and appetizers before being ushered to the next location. ... [Read more]
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