Sitka Local Foods Network fundraisers

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Check out the September 2018 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the September 2018 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about the Running of the Boots on Sept. 22, our last two Sitka Farmers Markets of the summer, Aug. 31 being the last day to make Pick.Click.Give. donations, and an invitation to join our board of directors. Each story has links to our website for more information.

You can sign up for future editions of our newsletter by clicking on the newsletter image in the right column of our website and filling in the information. If you received a copy but didn’t want one, there is a link at the bottom of the newsletter so you can unsubscribe. Our intention is to get the word out about upcoming events and not to spam people. We will protect your privacy by not sharing our email list with others. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@SitkaLocalFoods).

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24th annual Running of the Boots raises funds for Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka

It’s time to dig your XtraTufs out of the closet and paint them up. The 24th annual Running of the Boots begins at 11:30 a.m. (registration opens at 10:30 a.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 22, at the big tent near Totem Square park on Lincoln Street. This year the costumed fun run fundraiser benefits two local nonprofit organizations — the Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka.

This year, there will be more food, music and other tents staged near the start of the Running of the Boots, so it will have a more festive atmosphere. This change allows the race to be a bigger part of the Season’s-End Celebration festivities hosted downtown by the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce and the Alaska Cruise Line Association. In addition to the Running of the Boots, the Season’s-End Celebration includes a lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. for Sitka residents featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, and fish. People are asked to make a $2 donation when they get their lunch, and the money raised will go toward a local community group or nonprofit to be announced.

THIS JUST IN: Russell’s has donated 10 pairs of XtraTufs for door prizes at the Running of the Boots. Thanks, Russell’s.

“We’re happy to share this event with Youth Advocates of Sitka this year,” Sitka Local Foods Network board president Charles Bingham said. “The Sitka Local Foods Network has hosted this event for the past decade, but this year we weren’t sure if we had enough board members in town to keep the event going. It’s a great event, and I’m happy Youth Advocates of Sitka decided to partner with us to keep it around for a 24th year. We lost our co-sponsor from last year when the organization closed its Sitka office and we needed to find a partner to continue this event. We wanted to honor the kid-friendly aspect of the event, and Youth Advocates of Sitka serves that role, as well as operating a youth-run food business (the Smoothie Truck) during the summer.”

“Youth Advocates of Sitka is proud to be involved with the Sitka tradition, Running of the Boots,” Youth Advocates of Sitka executive director Charlie Woodcock said. “Our vision is to empower youth to grow into healthy, happy, and productive members of our community. What a wonderful opportunity for us to support our youth and community with a fun and original celebration!”

So what is the Running of the Boots? It’s Southeast Alaska’s answer to Spain’s “Running of the Bulls.” Sitkans wear zany costumes and XtraTufs — Southeast Alaska’s distinctive rubber boots (aka, Sitka Sneakers). For the past decade, the Running of the Boots raised funds for the Sitka Local Foods Network, a nonprofit organization that hosts the Sitka Farmers Market and advocates for community gardens, a community greenhouse, sustainable uses of traditional subsistence foods and education for Sitka gardeners. This year, it also will raise funds for Youth Advocates of Sitka, which provides a variety of mental and behavioral services for youth and their families in Sitka.

The Running of the Boots is a short race for fun and not for speed, even though one of the many prize categories is for the fastest boots. Other prize categories include best-dressed boots, zaniest costume, best couple, best kids group and more. The course starts at Totem Square park, and runners will run from one end of Lincoln Street to the other and back to Totem Square park (or, we may just run from Totem Square down Lincoln Street to St. Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, where runners will loop around the church and head back to Totem Square). There will be lots of prizes, including some new pairs of XtraTufs. There also is live music, and fun for the entire family. Some of the better costumes in recent years have been worn by adults.

The entry fee for the Running of the Boots is $10 per person and $30 per family, and people can register for the race starting at 10:30 a.m. Costume judging starts about 11 a.m., and runners hit the streets at 11:30 a.m. (NOTE: these times are a half-hour later than in recent years). As usual, local merchants have donated bushels of prizes for the costume contest. The Sitka Local Foods Network will host a farm stand booth with fresh veggies for sale from St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm. The booth takes debit cards, WIC vouchers and Alaska Quest (SNAP) electronic benefit cards. The Smoothie Truck also will be at the event.

To learn more about the Running of the Boots, contact Charlie Woodcock of Youth Advocates of Sitka at 747-2910 or by email at charlie.woodcock@sitkayouth.org, or contact Charles Bingham of the Sitka Local Foods Network at 623-7660 or by email at charleswbingham3@gmail.com. We also need several volunteers to help set up and take down the race (at least two needed) and to judge the costumes (two needed). Contact Charlie Woodcock or Sydney Carter of YAS (747-2848 or sydney.carter@sitkayouth.org) to learn how to volunteer.

Historical information about the race (through 2005) can be found online at http://www.runningoftheboots.org/. Info about the Sitka Local Foods Network and more recent Running of the Boots events (2008-17) is online at http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org/ (type Running of the Boots into the search bar near the top of the page). Click this link to see a slideshow of scenes from the 2017 Running of the Boots.

Also, don’t forget to like our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork and follow our Twitter page at https://www.twitter.com/SitkaLocalFoods (@SitkaLocalFoods) to stay updated on Sitka Local Foods Network activities. The Youth Advocates of Sitka page on Facebook is https://www.facebook.com/sitkayouth.

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Scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market volunteer Hannah Green, right, presents the Table of the Day Award to Gracelynn Friske, left, and Andrew Friske, center, of the FV Adria during the fifth market of the summer held Saturday, Aug. 25, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. The FV Adria had a few live Dungeness crab at their booth, and customers were directed to their boat in the harbor to purchase crab to take home. As Table Of The Day Award-winners, the Friske family received two Sitka Farmers Market t-shirts, some birch syrup products from Kahiltna Birchworks, a jar of Inga’s Spice Rub, a Chugach Chocolates bar, and a package of Alaska Flour Company cookie mix, and some locally grown beets and salad mix. The next Sitka Farmers Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street), with the last market scheduled for Sept. 15. Also, don’t forget to mark your calendar for the 24th Running of the Boots costumed fun run on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Race registration opens at 10:30 a.m., with costume judging at 11 a.m. and the race at 11:30 a.m. This event benefits the Sitka Local Foods Network and Youth Advocates of Sitka. To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and how to be a vendor, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We hosted our fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Aug. 25, with a full slate of booths and a decent crowd. The weather was a bit rainy, so most of the booths were inside.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. We even had a vendor selling live crab (note, they had a few display crab at the market and customers went to the boat to pick their Dungeness crabs to take home). Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling fhome-baked bread, jams and jellies, sea veggies and teas, garlic, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a couple of food truck outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

The next Sitka Farmers Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 1, at the ANB Founders Hall. There last market of the summer is scheduled for Sept. 15.

Also, the Sitka Local Foods Network will co-host the 24th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run (with Youth Advocates of Sitka) on Saturday, Sept. 22, at Totem Square Park. Registration opens at 10:30 a.m., costume judging starts about 11 a.m., and the race starts at 11:30 a.m. We plan to have a farm stand at the event, and YAS will have the Smoothie Truck. The entry fee is $10 for individuals and $30 for families. There will be door prizes and live music, too. This event is part of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s annual End-Of-Season Celebration, which includes a community lunch for a donation (which usually goes for school activities).

To learn how to be a vendor at the market or how to be a volunteer, contact market manager Nina Vizcarrondo at (907) 738-9301 or assistant manager Charles Bingham (907) 623-7660, or email us at sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. We also have a kids vendor program at the market for young entrepreneurs age 12 or younger. Don’t forget to like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook.

A slideshow of scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of 2018 is posted below.

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Join us Aug. 18 for a night of blues to support the Sitka Local Foods Network

You’ve heard them play at the Sitka Farmers Market, and now they’re holding a fundraiser for the Sitka Local Foods Network.

The Sitka Blues Band — which features Fred Knowles on guitar, Ritch Phillips on bass, Auriella Hughes on conga drums, Gary Gouker on harmonica, and possibly other musical guests — will play a set or two during its Sitka Summer Blues Party starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 18, in the Mean Queen’s downstairs bar. The band is graciously donating its tips from this event to the Sitka Local Foods Network.

People can order pizza, wings and salads from the Mean Queen, and there will be a full bar with a variety of adult beverages available for purchase.

Feel free to stop by and learn more about the Sitka Local Foods Network and some of the work we do around the community. We thank the band for offering us this fundraiser.

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Scenes from the fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market manager Nina Vizcarrondo, third from left, and Sitka Farmers Market volunteer Nisreen Jehka, right, an exchange student from Thailand, present the Table of the Day Award to Vivian Mork, left, and Aakatchaq Schaeffer, second from left, of Planet Alaska during the fourth market of the summer held Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. Planet Alaska sold jams and jellies, tinctures and salves made from local plants, and artwork. As Table Of The Day Award-winners, Vivian and Aakatchaq received a Sitka Farmers Market t-shirt, a Sitka Local Foods Network apron, some birch syrup products from Kahiltna Birchworks, a jar of Inga’s Spice Rub, a jar of Barnacle kelp salsa, and a package of Alaska Flour Company Great Alaska Pancake Mix, and some locally grown carrots. This was National Farmers Market Week, so they also received two farmers market pins. The next Sitka Farmers Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street), with other markets scheduled for Sept. 1, and Sept. 15. To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and how to be a vendor, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We celebrated National Farmers Market Week during our fourth Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Aug. 11, with a full slate of booths and a big crowd. The weather even cooperated, clearing up to blue skies after a morning of clouds and threats of rain and heavy wind.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. We also had a visit by a couple of baby goats. Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling frozen and jarred fish, home-baked bread, jams and jellies, sea veggies and teas, garlic scapes, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a couple of food trucks and a hot dog vendor outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

The next Sitka Farmers Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25, at the ANB Founders Hall. There also are markets scheduled for Sept. 1, and Sept. 15.

To learn how to be a vendor at the market or how to be a volunteer, contact market manager Nina Vizcarrondo at (907) 738-9301 or assistant manager Charles Bingham (907) 623-7660, or email us at sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. We also have a kids vendor program at the market for young entrepreneurs age 12 or younger. Don’t forget to like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook.

A slideshow of scenes from the fourth Sitka Farmers Market of 2018 is posted below.

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Check out the August 2018 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the August 2018 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about National Farmers Market Week, Aug. 31 being the last day to make Pick.Click.Give. donations, an invitation to join our board of directors, and info about our sponsorship program. Each story has links to our website for more information.

You can sign up for future editions of our newsletter by clicking on the newsletter image in the right column of our website and filling in the information. If you received a copy but didn’t want one, there is a link at the bottom of the newsletter so you can unsubscribe. Our intention is to get the word out about upcoming events and not to spam people. We will protect your privacy by not sharing our email list with others. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook, like our new Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook and follow us on Twitter (@SitkaLocalFoods).

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Don’t forget, you still can add Pick.Click.Give. donations to your 2018 PFD application through Aug. 31

If you’re like most Alaskans you probably filed your 2018 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) application before the March deadline and haven’t given it a second thought since. But did you know you still can add Pick.Click.Give.donations to your 2018 application through Monday, Aug. 31? If you haven’t already, please consider making a Pick.Click.Give. donation to the Sitka Local Foods Network.

Here’s how to add or change your Pick.Click.Give. donations. First, go to the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application website, http://pfd.alaska.gov/, and find the green “Add A Pick.Click.Give. Donation” bar in the right column. Click the green bar, and follow the directions. You’ll need to enter your driver’s license number, Social Security number, and birthday to access your application, but once on the page you’ll be able to see your current Pick.Click.Give. donations (if any) and you can add or change them. Check the graphic to the right to learn more about how to make Pick.Click.Give. donations.

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This is the fourth year the Sitka Local Foods Network has participated in the Pick.Click.Give. program, which allows people to donate in $25 increments to their favorite statewide and local 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations when they file their PFD applications from Jan. 1 through March 31. We missed 2017 due to a clerical snafu, but we’re back in the program for 2018.

When you choose to donate part of your PFD to the Sitka Local Foods Network, you support the Sitka Farmers Market, St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, education programs about growing and preserving food, the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen, Sitka Community Gardens, matching dollars at the Sitka Farmers Market for SNAP/WIC beneficiaries, the sustainable use of traditional foods, the Sitka Community Food Assessment, the Sitka Food Summit, and a variety of other projects designed to increase access to healthy local foods in Sitka. This year we launched a Sitka Food Business Innovation Contest to try and encourage more food entrepreneurs in Sitka.

Did you forget to make your Pick.Click.Give. donations when you filed for your PFD this year? Don’t worry, you can still add or change your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 when you go back into your online application (you will need to have your My.Alaska.gov information handy to log into the application). You can’t file your PFD application after the March 31 deadline, but if you filed for your PFD before the deadline you have until Aug. 31 to modify your Pick.Click.Give. donations.

In 2017 Alaskans contributed $2.7 million to 668 Alaska nonprofit organizations, and more than $18.5 million has been donated since the program started in 2009. Some Alaskans choose to donate to just one group, while others may spread several donations around to many groups. There now are more than 600 total 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations participating in Pick.Click.Give. for 2017 (including multi-location nonprofits), including 23 from Sitka. In 2017, Alaskans donated $100,500 to Sitka-based nonprofits.

To encourage more Alaskans to donate through the Pick.Click.Give. program, the Double Your Dividend contest has been revised to encourage philanthropy. Anybody who makes a non-anonymous Pick.Click.Give. donation to at least one of the registered nonprofits will be entered into a contest where five lucky Alaskans will win a second PFD check for their favorite participating Pick.Click.Give. nonprofit (or it can be split between a couple of nonprofits). The winners no longer receive a second PFD for themselves, just one to donate to an organization. The winners will be announced in October, about the time the PFDs start hitting bank accounts.

So how do you make a donation to the Sitka Local Foods Network through the Pick.Click.Give. program? First, go fill out your Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application at http://pfd.alaska.gov/. When you get to the section of the application asking if you want to participate in Pick.Click.Give. Charitable Contributions program, click on the PCG link and search for the Sitka Local Foods Network. You also can look for us by using the town search for Sitka.

The Pick.Click.Give. program is available only to people who file their PFD applications online, and not to those who file by mail. Even though you can’t file a new PFD application after March 31, you can go back into your application and update your Pick.Click.Give. donations through Aug. 31 each year.

You still can donate to the Sitka Local Foods Network if you aren’t from Alaska or aren’t eligible for a 2018 PFD. To donate, send your check to the Sitka Local Foods Network, 408-D Marine St., Sitka, Alaska, 99835. You also can donate online by going to our online fundraising page on MightyCause.com (formerly Razoo.com), and clicking the Donate button to make an online contribution. Please let us know if you need a receipt for tax purposes. For more information about donating, you can send an email to sitkalocalfoodsnetwork@gmail.com.

Thank you for supporting our mission is to increase the amount of locally produced and harvested food in the diets of Southeast Alaskans.

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Scenes from the third Sitka Farmers Market of the 2018 summer

Sitka Farmers Market manager Nina Vizcarrondo, center, presents the Table of the Day Award to Henry Nye, left, and Anthony Vlahovich, right, of Alaskans Own Seafood during the third market of the summer held Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. Alaskans Own Seafood, which is a project of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, sold frozen fish and also provided information about its community-supported fisheries program. As Table Of The Day Award-winners, Henry and Anthony received two Sitka Farmers Market t-shirts, some birch syrup products from Kahiltna Birchworks, a jar of Inga’s Spice Rub, a jar of Barnacle kelp salsa, and a Chugach Chocolate bar. The next Sitka Farmers Market is scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street), with other markets scheduled for Aug. 25, Sept. 1, and Sept. 15. The Aug. 11 market falls during National Farmers Market Week (Aug. 5-11), so make sure you stop by the market. To learn more about the Sitka Farmers Market and how to be a vendor, go to the Sitka Local Foods Network website, http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or check out our Facebook pages for the Sitka Local Foods Network and the Sitka Farmers Market.

We held our third Sitka Farmers Market of the summer on Saturday, Aug. 4, with a full slate of booths and a big crowd. The weather even cooperated, clearing up to blue skies after a morning of clouds and threats of rain and heavy wind.

We had lots of produce this time, as the growing season has progressed so more is ready to pick. We also had a visit by a couple of baby goats. Our vendors had a wide range of products for sale. We had vendors selling frozen and jarred fish, home-baked bread, jams and jellies, sea veggies and teas, garlic scapes, carrots and other produce, locally produced medicinal herbs and tinctures, arts and crafts, and more. We also had a couple of food trucks and a hot dog vendor outside. And we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines this year at the Sitka Local Foods Network’s farm stand.

The next Sitka Farmers Market takes place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, at the ANB Founders Hall. Aug. 5-11 is National Farmers Market Week, so stop by the market to say hello. There also are markets scheduled for Aug. 25, Sept. 1, and Sept. 15.

To learn how to be a vendor at the market or how to be a volunteer, contact market manager Nina Vizcarrondo at (907) 738-9301 or assistant manager Charles Bingham (907) 623-7660, or email us at sitkafarmersmarket@gmail.com. We also have a kids vendor program at the market for young entrepreneurs age 12 or younger. Don’t forget to like our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook.

A slideshow of scenes from the third Sitka Farmers Market of 2018 is posted below.

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Celebrate National Farmers Market Week by attending the Sitka Farmers Markets on Aug. 4 and 11

The 19th annual National Farmers Market Week is Aug. 5-11 this year, so stop by the Sitka Farmers Markets to join the celebration, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays, Aug. 4 and 11, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. This is the 11th season of Sitka Farmers Markets.

The annual National Farmers Market Week celebration is the first full week of August, when growing season is peaking around the country. Click here to read this year’s National Farmers Market Week proclamation from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.

The number of farmers markets in the country has more than tripled since 1996, growing from 2,410 markets in 1996 to 8,675 in 2016. There has been similar growth in Alaska, and now markets can be found in many Bush communities from Bethel to Thorne Bay. This growth has improved Alaska’s food security while also serving as an incubator for new businesses.

According to the Farmers Market Coalition, farmers markets …

  • Preserve America’s rural livelihoods and farmland. Farmers markets provide one of the only low-barrier entry points for beginning farmers, allowing them to start small, test the market, and grow their businesses.
  • Stimulate local economies. Growers selling locally create 13 full-time farm operator jobs per $1 million in revenue earned. Those growers that do not sell locally create three jobs.
  • Increase access to fresh, nutritious food. Several  studies have found lower prices for conventional and organic produce at farmers markets than at supermarkets. Due to this and other factors, 52 percent more SNAP households shop at farmers markets and from direct marketing farmers today than in 2011. The Sitka Farmers Market was the first market in Southeast Alaska to accept SNAP and WIC benefits, and we have a matching program for SNAP and WIC beneficiaries.
  • Support healthy communities. Farmers market vendors educate their shoppers. Four out of five farmers selling at markets discuss farming practices with their customers, and three in five discuss nutrition and how to prepare food.
  • Promote sustainability. Three out of every four farmers selling at farmers markets say they use practices consistent with organic standards.
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Help us keep the Running of the Boots event going for a 24th year

For nearly a quarter of a century, the Running of the Boots costumed fun run fundraiser has been a Sitka institution. But unless the Sitka Local Foods Network can find a partner organization or a big crew of volunteers, the race may not happen this year. Please help us keep the event going.

For those not familiar with the event, the Running of the Boots is a short costumed fun run in downtown Sitka where people run a short course wearing costumes and XtraTuf boots (optional). Usually the course isn’t much longer than running from the Totem Square end of Lincoln Street to the stoplight and back. Money is raised through an entry fee, and the Sitka Local Foods Network has hosted a small farm stand with late-season fresh local produce.

The Sitka Local Foods Network has coordinated the race for 11 years, but this year we just don’t have the board strength to get the event organized. Last year, to keep the event going, we partnered with the Sitka office of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska, splitting proceeds. But the Sitka office of BBBS was closed earlier this year. This year we have two board members going on an extended honeymoon, another board member out of state at a conference the week of the event, and another board member who is pregnant and nearing her due date, so we need someone to step in and coordinate the event this year, and we’ll let you keep most of the proceeds from the race (if we can get our usual farm stand going, we’d keep the money earned from that).

The Running of the Boots has been part of the Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce’s End-Of-Season Celebration the last several years, and this year that event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 22. It usually starts about 11 a.m. (with registration open at 10 a.m. and costume judging about 10:30 a.m.). The race is over by about 11:30 a.m., with awards taking until noon or so. There is some set-up and take-down time involved, and there is prep time leading up to the event where the coordinator meets with the Chamber to make sure all the arrangements are worked out and also contacting merchants to get door prizes.

We’d love to find a kid-friendly group to help share this event, and SLFN board president Charles Bingham will help with media and other promotion even though he will be out of town until the week of the event (he gets back Friday night before the race). If your group is interested, please contact Charles at 623-7660 or charleswbingham3@gmail.com. Let’s keep this fun event going.