Alaska Day Festival: historic land transfer celebrated in Sitka.

• Author: Pounds, Nancy
• Position: Alaska This Month

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History buffs, pack your bags this month for Sitka. The Southeast town's Alaska Day Festival features a 19th century costume ball complete with keystone cops and a ceremony commemorating the 1867 transfer of Alaska territory from Russia to the United States. The 10-day festival, set for Oct. 9 to 18, spotlights the theme of Alaska's 50th anniversary of statehood.

Alaska Day Festival remembers the Oct. 18, 1867, ceremony at Sitka to lower the Russian flag and replace it with the U.S. flag, marking the end of Russia's claim to sovereignty in the state. During the transfer ceremony on Castle Hill, about 250 U.S. Army soldiers were in rows facing 100 Russian troops.

The modern reenactment ceremony stirs the emotions, with music from a U.S. Army band, colorful period costumes and current military uniforms, according to Elaine Strelow, festival schedule and publicity coordinator.

"Everything is heightened when the weather is nice," Strelow said, recalling past celebrations with sunlight brightening golden leaves and making brass instruments glisten.

Some out-of-town visitors have come from international bases, but the Alaska Day Festival is chiefly a local event, according to Sandy Lorrigan, executive director of the Sitka Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"It's a festival we wish more Alaskans knew about," Lorrigan said, praising the efforts of longtime volunteers including Strelow, who coordinate numerous activities. "It's so loved by our local community."

Alaska Day Festival reflects the charm of small-town events, where long-running activities and community spirit fuel the event's longevity, she said. After the hard work of summer's visitor season, the whimsy of keystone cops and beard-contest aspirants scurrying about town lightens the heart, she said.

"You never know what to expect," Lorrigan said.

PAST AND PRESENT

The first Alaska Day Festival was in 1949. The celebration also marked the unveiling of "The Prospector," a bronze statue at the Pioneers Home.

In 1966 Sitka residents formed an organizing committee to prepare for the Alaska land transfer centennial celebration, recalled Strelow, who has been a festival volunteer since then.

"It has grown each year," she said. "For me it has been very satisfying to see this evolve with a great variety of activities."

The festival honors the past, but also cherishes Sitka's present, Strelow emphasized.

"We commemorate this historic event and celebrate the culture of diversity...