Arctic Fest 2022

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (KTVF) - Arctic Fest is a week long journey of events that brings awareness to the art, culture, climate research and the people of Alaska living in the arctic.

The week long festival takes a less conventional approach and is comprised of smaller partnering events such as the Fairbanks Fungi Festival, First Friday events, UAF Museum exploration series, Native art exhibits, musical performances and academic events. The organizing partners for Arctic Fest include the Fairbanks Concert Association, the Northern Alaska Environmental Center and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF). Many smaller organizations and groups make up the large body of sponsors and participating partners.

“Arctic fest is an arts and climate change festival being held annually in Fairbanks, Alaska,” said Elisabeth Balster Dabney, a member of the Arctic Fest steering committee.

Dabney called the festival a “community development project,” that is designed to engage visitors from across the state, nation and globe. The idea is that the festival will help increase the tourism industry in Fairbanks. The increase in visitors will help increase awareness of the art, culture, and people of Alaska, including the climate research that is produced here in the interior.

Many of the events involved in the festival are experienced differently, as some are very hands-on while other events are more oriented to observing. However, Dabney thinks “that every event that you attend that’s under the umbrella of Arctic Fest, you’ll find that same theme.” Dabney also expressed excitement over the many opportunities being offered to participate in the events. People have been able to attend during the weekday, in the evenings, and also on the weekend.

Some of the events require an entrance or participation fee while others have been free to attend such as the first Fairbanks Fungi Festival which took place on Sunday, August 28, at the Ester Community Park. This new festival was a gathering of local fungi enthusiasts, sharing knowledge of mushrooms and other fungi. Some people dressed up in mushroom styled clothing with shirts that had mushroom prints and hats shaped like mushrooms. Activities included art, food, vendors, face painting and a music set for kids to play with.

Some of the events taking place on Friday and Saturday include the UAF Circumpolar Music Series featuring Pamyua on September 2 from 1 to 2 p.m. at the UAF Fine Arts Complex. The Green Marketplace and Innovation Hub will take place on September 2 and 3 at the Centennial Center Exhibit Hall in Pioneer Park and the LARS Local Day is September 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UAF Large Animal Research Station at 2220 Yankovich Rd.

The final events for Arctic Fest 2022 will take place on Saturday, August 3, with the first event taking place at the UAF Ski Hut starting at 10:30 a.m. Closing out the festival on Saturday will be an “In a Time of Change: Boreal Forest Stories” live performance and an event called “Late-night fun” which will take place at Goldies on 5th Ave., starting at 9 p.m.

Visit the Arctic Fest website for more information on all the events.

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