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2018 Salmonberry Contest, Recap of 2017 event & Interview with our 2017 Guest Celebrity Judge Kirsten Dixon!

| July 30, 2018 | 0 Comments

by Jenny Chissus

SalmonberryDelightsContestLOGO2018There are quite a few things that come to mind when you think of summer in Seldovia, and one of the very special ones, is the fact that we are a haven for Salmonberries!  We’re in our 2nd year of hosting the Salmonberry Dessert Contest, and we agreed that we needed to divide up the categories a bit as we had such a variety of treats last year!  We will have two categories in our renamed “Salmonberry Delights Contest”!  Sweet OR Savory – thanks to Kirsten Dixon for that description of last year’s event!  This allows folks to submit both the “Sweet” Salmonberry Desserts as well as “Savory” Salmonberry Dressings, sauces & other.  We’re excited to see what this year will bring!

The audience loved when the judges began sharing of all the treats once they had judged their portion.  This year we will have a People’s Choice winner as the crowd truly enjoyed getting in on the tasty fare!  So, to all entrants, please have enough for the 3 judges as well as some to share tastes with the diners at the Boardwalk as they will each have one vote!  This worked out beautifully last year, as the three judges just take a taste of a pie or cake so there is plenty to share… but when it is just a candy, scoop of ice cream or a muffin, there is not much to go around!  So keep that in mind!

Bring your entry before 6pm and sit down for dinner and a front row seat to the contest judging that begins at 7:30pm!

I know many folks who don’t live in Seldovia can’t wait for the season and make trips to our side of the bay for these elusive fruits!  Last year, as we looked back at our photos from 2016, we figured we would be safe to have our contest in late July!  Not so!  Our lack of sun and warmth last summer led to a mediocre and VERY late summer crop of salmonberries, so we moved the event to the end of August! Thankfully, it all worked out to the good, as Kirsten and Mandy Dixon were able to make the event in August, and never would have been able to swing it in July!  This year, the berries are ripening and plentiful, if you can beat the crows!

Last year, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go – if folks would find any berries – if anyone had great dessert recipes to create something for a contest… but when 7:30pm drew near, we had 25 entries!  We had to bring out two more tables to manage the dessert feast!

We had salmonberry coffee cake, salmonberry swirl cake, lemon salmonberry marscarpone cake, salmonberry cheesecake, brie cheese with salmonberry chutney, salmonberry cake with fireweed honey sauce, chocolate covered rice crispy salmonberry truffles, salmonberry shortcake, salmonberry crumble bars, salmonberry rhubarb pudding cake, salmonberry smoothie, salmonberry cheesecake bites, salmonberry sweet buns, salmonberry custard pie with shortbread crust, brie with salmonberry lemon cream cheese and salmonberry jelly sauce, angel food cake with orange butter salmonberry sauce, love of salmonberry pastry with cream rose salmonberry essence, etc!  It was incredible!

Thanks so much to Jeremiah and Angela and the Boardwalk Hotel staff who worked hard to accommodate all the entrants, people and fun!  They did a phenomenal job!  We look forward to having the contest there again this year!  Thank you for hosting!

Enjoy the Slide show from last year’s event below – where you can see the winning entries and amazing chefs and bakers of Seldovia!  Get inspired!

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Interview with Celebrity Chef Kirsten –

It was such a privilege to meet and host Kirsten and her daughter Mandy in Seldovia.  Thanks so much to Valerie Granath from the Bridgekeeper’s Inn who offered her B&B for the two of them to enjoy a night in Seldovia after the contest!

I had a chance to visit with Kirsten and wanted to share some of her thoughts after the event was through!

Jenny – When you were invited to be a judge, what made you say “Yes”?

Kirsten – I enjoy any opportunity to visit Seldovia. We’re such close neighbors! At Tutka Bay Lodge we just feel that we are part of the Seldovia community and of course, I’m a huge fan of salmonberries and I’m a huge fan of our wild edibles bringing people closer together.

Jenny – You’ve been to Seldovia before, how was this visit?

Kirsten – Every time we visit Seldovia, it’s always a little bit more vibrant and active than the time we were there before.  People are super kind and friendly and very warm and inviting to us.

Jenny – What was the highlight of your stay?

Kirsten – It was a quick and short stay, but we were amazed at all the incredible baked goods submitted into the contest. So many talented cooks and bakers, both sweet and savory.
Jenny – Was the contest what you expected?  Why? Why not?

Kirsten – No, it certainly wasn’t what we expected. The talent and variety of the entries along with so many people entries, over 25!  It was pretty amazing!  The food at the restaurant was incredible, the company was wonderful, the music was really beautiful, and overall the evening with such great fun.  The bed and breakfast was sweet with such a lovely morning breakfast.

Jenny – This was our first time hosting a contest like this.   Next year, what could we do better?
Kirsten – We had a last-minute impromptu plan to share the desserts with people who were at the restaurant. I think this is a really fun way to bring observers into the event. Next year perhaps, you can ask the participants to make one entry for the judges and one to share with the crowd.
Jenny – There were 25 desserts, what was the best part about getting to taste all those yummies, and the most difficult?
 
Kirsten – The worst part was that each dish was so delicious. The best part was that I handed my leftovers to Mandy to save for later to eat at the bed-and-breakfast but the worst part again was that Mandy ate them all before we left the restaurant!
Jenny – Any other thoughts you’d like to share?
Kirsten – Look at what an amazing community event this was, even though it wasn’t the best berry year we’ve ever had. Imagine what it will be like next year. (I am already hoping for a better crop).
Jenny – Would you consider coming back again, maybe bring your cookbooks and do some book signing and perhaps a cooking demo?
Kirsten – Absolutely. Mandy and I are working on a new cookbook that will be out in the spring of 2019. We would love to share some of our new recipes and ideas – and, of course, learn from you as well.

Join us for the 2018 event, Saturday, August 11, 2018 at the Boardwalk Hotel!

All entries need to be registered at the hotel between 5:00 and 6:00pm.

Judging will begin at 7:30pm!

Flag Day 2018 Dessert Potluck

| June 13, 2018 | 0 Comments
Flag Day Dessert Potluck

Flag Day Dessert Potluck

The first of 4 Races this summer in Seldovia!

| June 7, 2018 | 0 Comments
by Jenny Chissus
Memorial Day Weekend is the start of our Seldovia Summer!  The sun is shining, the days are lengthening, snow birds are returning and summer businesses are opening up to receive the plethora (Ok, maybe not quite a plethora – but its a great word!) of visitors and locals out and about to enjoy our community.  We love our long winters and the time spent with family and friends in Seldovia, but we also look forward to the many friends and family that come to visit during our beautiful summers as well as visitors that grace our streets, enjoy our restaurants, activities and outdoors and create a bustle of activity in our community!
The Runners!
It is a funny thing about this first Annual Memorial Day 5K!  I’ll tell you the story.  Somehow, it managed to be put into the events for Seldovia in the Homer Chamber visitor’s guide.  Not sure how that happened, as we have never had a Memorial Day race.  But it must have been kismit – as one of our local business owners, an avid runner himself, Steve Bainbridge said “It’s on the calendar, we have to have it, I’ll run it!” and took on the challenge of coordinating the event.  Thank you Steve!
Out of the clouds and rain, came a beautiful day for a race!  It was certainly meant to be.  We had 18 participants in this inaugural event.  Enjoy the slideshow below – along with celebrating the winners in each category.
   
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Heather Renner - 1st place Adult Female
 Ben Hamster - 3rd place Adult Male
Martin Renner - 2nd place Adult Male
Lance Williamson - 1st place Adult Male
Holly Martinson - 2nd place Adult Female and Liv Kullberg - 2nd place Youth Female
Some of the Winners!
 Melissa Peterson - 3rd place Adult Female
Lukas Renner - 1st place Youth Male
Frida Renner - 1st place Youth Female
Heather Renner - 1st place Adult Female
 Ben Hamster - 3rd place Adult Male
Martin Renner - 2nd place Adult Male
Lance Williamson - 1st place Adult Male
Holly Martinson - 2nd place Adult Female and Liv Kullberg - 2nd place Youth Female
Some of the Winners!
 Melissa Peterson - 3rd place Adult Female
Lukas Renner - 1st place Youth Male
Frida Renner - 1st place Youth Female
Heather Renner - 1st place Adult Female
 Ben Hamster - 3rd place Adult Male
Martin Renner - 2nd place Adult Male
 
Awards!Adult Male
1st place — Lance Williamson
2nd place — Martin Renner
3rd place — Ben Hamster
Adult Female
1st place — Heather Renner
2nd place — Holly Martinson
3rd place — Melissa Peterson
Juvenile Male
1st place — Lukas Renner
Juvenile Female
1st place — Frida Renner
2nd place — Liv Kullberg
Kachemak Bay Running Club Logo
In addition to Steve Bainbridge who coordinated the event, thanks so much to all who helped put this together.  It truly was a team effort!
We want to give a special thanks to Andy Haas and the Kachemak Bay Running Club for sponsoring the race, providing insurance and bringing some folks across the bay to participate!  Also, Tobben Spurkland showed up with the Start and Finish signs and performed the timing for the event, Adam Hilts helped with set up and take down and helped man the airport turn around to direct runners, Ted Moore, Jenny Chissus, Devin Chissus and Chuck Nagel also managed the course direction at key turns so that runners didn’t get lost in Seldovia.  🙂  Seldovia Property bought the bibs and Vivian Rojas helped with registration and course management with Steve.
Overall – it was a very successful first of four races this summer in Seldovia!  If you want to have another chance at a running challenge, we have the Salmon Shuffle 5K on the 4th of July, the Jakolof Bay 10 Mile Run/Bike on the 28th of July, and we finish the season with the Labor Day weekend End of Summer Mini Marathon 5K and 10K on September 1st.
Running and walking is great in Seldovia, as you can run on dirt, sand and gravel (not too much concrete) and the traffic – well there is very little.  Steve has started to coordinate a group of runners – The Seldovia Running Club – and he has some ideas up his sleeve!  If you are interested in gathering with fellow runners, then please stop by the Harbor Inn Coffee and Gift Shop on Main Street and check in with Steve – he loves to talk running.  🙂  Maybe someday there will be 5 runs on the calendar in Seldovia!

Come run in Seldovia!

3rd and final race in Seldovia this summer.

| August 29, 2017 | 0 Comments

by Jenny Chissus

What a summer we have had!  Great days of sun and beach time – and our Seldovia races have been very well attended!

Like the Jakolof Bay 10 Miler and Salmon Shuffle – we are excited to welcome kids to the race – and this year, children’s registration will be free!  This is great finale to our summer fun and we hope your whole families will come to participate.  Any proceeds from this race will go to the Craft Invitational Chainsaw Carving Competition!

Early registration will be on Friday evening at the Competition site (by the Pavilion) from 7-9pm and final registration will be at 9:00am on race day – with the race to start at 10:00am!  Awards will be given after the race – along with some sweet treats to replenish!

Looking forward to seeing you there! 🙂

Watch The Chips Fly – Chainsaw Competition 2017!

| August 10, 2017 | 0 Comments

by Jenny Chissus

Yes, this is ABSOLUTELY my most favorite event in Seldovia each year!

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For a small community, Seldovia has an amazing number of great events that happen throughout the year.  Activities are sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Arts Council, Seldovia Village Tribe, Susan B. English school and of course the businesses who bring in live entertainment and host events!   We are so fortunate to have such an active group of organizations and community members who host such a wide variety of events, activities and celebrations. These are well attended by our locals as well as visitors who enjoy participating in our small, beautiful and intimate setting.

The Craft Invitational Chainsaw Carving Competition is a chance for artists to gather in Seldovia over a 4 day period, and create masterpiece carvings out of our large Stika Spruce logs!  Many of these artists are accustomed to working with smaller materials, so being able to carve a 26 -45 inch diameter log is a treat!  Amazing creations are brought to life!

Since 2006, the Seldovia Chamber of Commerce has hosted this competition and been honored to place these stunning carvings throughout our community so our locals and visitors are able to enjoy them all year long!   The community has raised funds through sponsorships to award $3,000 for our first place winner, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for our 3rd place recipient each year.

Our outdoor museum of over 45 carvings is the best in Alaska!    The joy of seeing the rough logs turned into finished art is palpable in the eyes of the onlookers.  All weekend long, folks stop in to monitor the progress, cheer the carvers on with encouraging words, enjoy conversations around the campfire while snacking on smores and roasting hotdogs. It is an outdoor community event that lasts for 4 days and costs nothing to participate.  A family friendly activity, witnessing the creation of Alaskan artwork in progress!

Carvers and their assistants are treated like the superstars they are, as we host their trip over from Homer, their lodging while in town, as well as all their meals for the entire stay.  We invite families to join them on the trip, so it often is a vacation to remember for their whole family!

Thank you to the many volunteers, sponsors, businesses and individuals who make this event a huge success!

There is a lot going on this weekend as the Blueberry Festival returns to Seldovia, the 5K and 10K run on Saturday and the Guitar Master’s concert on Sunday!  So come join us this Labor Day Weekend to Watch the Chips Fly!

Seldovia Featured in Top 20!

| August 10, 2017 | 0 Comments

by Jenny Chissus

Trip Advisor has featured Seldovia as one of the top best vacation towns in the USA!  No doubt… something we knew already!  🙂

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Click here or on the image below to go directly to the Trip Advisor Blog to see the other cities in America who share this title, and share with folks – give it a “like” and know that we are the lucky ones, to live, work and play in this fantastic community!

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