Nome celebrates solstice with a bang: festival features fake hold-up, parade and a raft race.

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

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After a long winter with epic bouts of frigid temperatures, Alaskans will celebrate the year's longest days with heightened revelry. In Nome, the Midnight Sun Festival will mark 22 hours of direct daylight for the solstice.

This year's event runs from Friday, June 19 to Sunday, June 21. The Nome Midnight Sun Folk Fest, including a special guest band, coincides with the town party. Activities include a parade, mock bank robbery, a homemade raft race and a polar bear plunge in the Bering Sea.

COMMUNITY PARTY

"It's a fun thing for local people to do, to celebrate our summer season which doesn't start till June," said Sari Haugen, travel consultant at the Nome Visitors Center. And the nearly 24 hours of daylight are definitely a reason to celebrate, she noted. The Midnight Sun Festival draws some out-of-town visitors, but the event chiefly serves as a creative, hilarious community party, she said. Also, people who have traveled to the region observe numerous migratory birds join in the festivities, Haugen said.

The weekend community event also includes a softball tournament, street vendors and other attractions.

RIVER RAFT RACE

The Nome River Raft Race is probably the most popular of Nome's solstice weekend activities, according to Haugen. The race starts at the Nome River Bridge, and contestants travel two or three miles downriver aboard homemade crafts. Participants don costumes and must be "soaking wet" by the finish, Haugen said. A recent race featured pirates. Winners bring home the traditional trophy--the fur-lined honey bucket, Haugen said.

PARADE

The parade on Front Street is followed by a costumed dramatic bank robbery at the Wells Fargo branch in Nome. The longtime activity features resident Nome history buffs, Haugen said. At the drama's finale, actors toss out candy--rather than the sought-after cash--to children who have gathered expectantly along the edges of the real-life stage, she added.

POLAR BEAR PLUNGE

The polar bear plunge challenges participants to dash into the chilly Bering Sea and stay as long as they can. Successful contestants earn a certificate for their accomplishment. Organizers typically light a bonfire nearby to warm swimmers, Haugen said. "The water is really cold," she emphasized.

HISTORY

The festival counts...