Bulletin Board
2018 Salmonberry Contest, Recap of 2017 event & Interview with our 2017 Guest Celebrity Judge Kirsten Dixon!
by Jenny Chissus
There 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 – 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.
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!
The first of 4 Races this summer in Seldovia!
Come run in Seldovia!
3rd and final race in Seldovia this summer.
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!
by Jenny Chissus
Yes, this is ABSOLUTELY my most favorite event in Seldovia each year!
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!
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! 🙂
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!