Sitka Seafood Festival

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Scenes from the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2019 summer

PHOTO COURTESY OF SITKA LOCAL FOODS NETWORK
TABLE OF THE DAY: Sitka Farmers Market manager Nina Vizcarrondo, third from left, presents Nancy Furlow, left, Rachel Henderson, second from left, and Grace Larsen, right, of the Alaska Native Sisterhood Camp No. 4 with the Table of the Day award during the fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the 2019 summer season, held Aug. 31, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. ANS Camp No. 4 sold Grace’s frybread and Indian tacos. They received a certificate, a Sitka Farmers Market tote bag, two Sitka Local Foods Network t-shirts, some salad mix from St. Peter’s Fellowship Farm, some taster straws of Bridge Creek Birch Syrup, a Chugach Chocolate candy bar, a jar of Evie’s Brinery fermented food, and some Barnacle Foods kelp salsa. The Sitka Farmers Market recently was listed on the Exceptional Markets list by the Certified Naturally Grown program. The next Sitka Farmers Market is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 7, at ANB Founders Hall (235 Katlian St.). The last market this summer is Sept. 21, plus there will be a Sitka Local Foods Network farm stand at the Running of the Boots event on Sept. 28. For more information, go to http://www.sitkalocalfoodsnetwork.org, or like our Sitka Local Foods Network page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SitkaLocalFoodsNetwork, and our Sitka Farmers Market page on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/SitkaFarmersMarket.

It was a busy weekend when we held our fifth Sitka Farmers Market of the season on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall. In addition to our farmers market, the Sitka Mermaid Festival and Sitka Seafood Festival had a marketplace at the same time, and the Mudball softball tournament was in full swing.

Now that we’re deeper into the season, we had more produce available than in our earlier markets. But we still ran out of most of our produce fairly early. Still, our vendors had a wide range of other products for sale. We had vendors selling Indian tacos and frybread; home-baked bread; fresh, frozen or jarred seafood; homemade caramels; garlic, lettuce, carrots and other produce; arts and crafts; and more. We also had a food truck outside (Ashmo’s). And this year we introduced a couple of new Alaska Grown product lines 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. 7, at the ANB Founders Hall. The last market of the season is scheduled for Sept. 21. Also, mark Saturday, Sept. 28, on your calendar for the annual Running of the Boots fundraiser (and farm stand). We still have room for new vendors at our last two farmers markets.

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 2019 is posted below.

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Check out the September 2019 edition of the Sitka Local Foods Network newsletter

The Sitka Local Foods Network just sent out the September 2019 edition of its monthly newsletter. Feel free to click this link to get a copy.

This month’s newsletter includes short stories about the 25th annual Running of the Boots costumed fun run fundraiser, info about the last three Sitka Farmers Markets, info about the new Sitka Farmers Market tote bags, a reminder that Aug. 31 is the last day you can update your Pick.Click.Give. donations on your 2019 Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend application, and an invitation to join the Sitka Local Foods Network’s 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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Sitka Mermaid Festival and Sitka Seafood Festival combine to host big weekend events

The Sitka Mermaid Festival and the Sitka Seafood Festival are joining forces this year to host several events this weekend. The Sitka Mermaid Festival started last year as a way to celebrate seaweed and other sea veggies, while the Sitka Seafood Festival has been around for about a decade and celebrates the fish in our area.

The Sitka Seafood Festival launched some events as early as July, but for the next week or so the events will be co-hosted by both organizations.

Things kick off from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, Aug. 24, with a youth Paint and Snack event featuring Tsimshian artist Mark Sixbey at the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association office at 304 Baranof Street (the former Island Institute office). The cost for this event is $10.

Meet from 11 a.m. to noon on Sunday, Aug. 25, at Halibut Point Recreation Area for a beach clean-up. Participants are encouraged to bring gloves. (The Sitka Kitch class about cooking with seaweed originally scheduled for Monday, Aug. 26, has been canceled.)

At 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27, at Rio’s Wine Bar (above Ludvig’s Bistro), there is an adult Paint and Sip led by Sarah Dart. This event costs $40 and includes one class of wine.

From 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at Evergreen Natural Foods is a Mermaids Love Seaweed! seaweed cosmetics and bath make-and-take event.

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, at the Sitka Sound Science Center is a Food For Thought: Where Art and Science Connect panel discussion on drawing creative inspiration from science.

The Umami Banquet: A Tasting Event Sourced From The Sea takes place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 30, at Harrigan Centennial Hall. This event features guest chef Cassandra Victoria Kelly from California. Tickets are $65 for the full tasting menu and $40 for standing-room only, and are available at Old Harbor Books. This event features performances by the Sitka Cirque aerial silks team, live music and a silent auction.

The big day is Saturday, Aug. 31, with the Marketplace open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Harrigan Centennial Hall. There is a Mermaid Promenade costume parade down the Sitka Sea Walk from the Sitka Sound Science Center to Crescent Harbor Shelter that starts at 11:30 a.m. (meet at 11 a.m. at the science center). There are food booths, kids’ games and other activities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Crescent Harbor Shelter, followed by fish tote races from 4-6 p.m. at Crescent Harbor Shelter. The day closes with the free Rock the Dock concert/dance event from 5-11 p.m. at Crescent Harbor Shelter (this event, which includes a beer garden for adults, is co-hosted by the Sitka Conservation Society).

Don’t forget the Sitka Local Foods Network also has a Sitka Farmers Market scheduled for 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 31, at the Alaska Native Brotherhood Founders Hall (235 Katlian Street).

The Marketplace continues for a second day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 1, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

The Sitka Seafood Festival also includes Wet Feet: Sitka Tells Tales from 6-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, at Beak Restaurant (co-hosted with ArtChange, Inc.), with a suggested donation of $5. The Sitka Seafood Festival schedule concludes with a marine safety inspector course taught by the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday, Sept. 23-27, and 8-10 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, at the Public Safety Training Academy (this event is free for qualified commercial fishermen and $995 for all others, register at the link above).

For more information, contact Amelia Mosher at sitkamermaidfestival@gmail.com or Tara Racine at director.asft@gmail.com.

 

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CANCELED: Sitka Kitch to host ‘Cooking With Seaweed With Kayla Caprice’ class on Aug. 26

Learn about Cooking With Seaweed With Kayla Caprice. This class takes place from6-8:30 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 26, at the new location of the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen at the Sitka Lutheran Church (224 Lincoln Street, please use the back entrance through the alley by the former location Bev’s Flowers & Gifts, off Harbor Drive). This class is part of a new Cooking With Kayla Caprice class series this summer, and our classes are fundraisers for the Sitka Kitch. This class also is being held in conjunction with the Sitka Mermaid Festival. (SORRY, THIS CLASS HAS BEEN CANCELED)

The classes in the Cooking With Kayla Caprice class series are open to all residents, and cost $40 per person. The registration deadline for this class is 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24.

Kayla currently works as a line cook at Ludvig’s Bistro in Sitka. In this class, Kayla said he will teach people about aquaculture, seaweed health benefits, and the availability of seaweed here in Sitka. She is still putting together her menu for the class, but she promised some easy recipes involving seaweed from local and non-local sources.

Kayla, hails from the Southeast coast, more specifically, Florida. She grew up around the ocean and fishing. Her mother was a chef and Food Network was her favorite channel growing up. She has a background in early childhood development and school-age instruction, with an emphasis on cooking and nutrition. She moved to Seattle three years ago to pursue her love of cooking, learning, teaching, and community involvement.

She has been helping educate adults and youth on cooking, nutrition and the food system with The Beechers Foundation in Seattle for more than two years. There she runs before- and after-school programs with cooking and baking clubs, as well as the school garden. She also assists in classes at Culinary Essentials in Ballard under Chef Nora Dummer, cooked at the Artist Home for the Doe Bay Music Festival on Orcas Island, worked at Firefly Kitchens (a fermentation company in Ballard), and taught the culinary summer camp at The Stroum Jewish Community Center on Mercer Island in Washington. She is currently a line cook at Ludvig’s Bistro in Sitka.

“Cooking for yourself is very important to me, as is loving good food,” Kayla wrote. “I believe everyone and anyone should have access to good food and be able to feed themselves, and the tools they need in order to do so.”

Other classes in the Cooking With Kayla Caprice series include (more details and registration information about these classes will be posted later):

In addition, the Sitka Kitch has other classes coming up. They include (more details and registration information about these classes will be posted later):

  • Cooking A Balanced Meal Featuring Alaska Seafood — 6-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 13, taught by SEARHC Registered Dietitian Katie Carroll ((class canceled due to low registration)
  • Cooking With Wild Mushrooms — Time and date TBA in early September, taught by UAS Sitka Campus Biology Assistant Professor Kitty LaBounty and Beak Restaurant Owner/Chef Renée Jakaitis Trafton

The registration deadline for the first Cooking With Kayla Caprice cooking class is 11:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24, so register now since space is limited. We need at least eight students to register and pre-pay to make this class happen. The class costs $40, which is part of our new all-inclusive fee system (you no longer have to pay a class fee to register, then a separate food/supply fee). You can register and pre-pay using credit/debit cards or PayPal on our EventSmart page, http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com(click on class title). For those wanting to pre-pay with cash or check, please call Chandler O’Connell or Clarice Johnson at Sitka Conservation Society (747-7509) to arrange a payment. For more information about the class, contact Jasmine Shaw at 747-9440. We do offer one potential scholarship spot per class for people with limited incomes, so long as we have enough students registered to make the class happen. Contact Chandler at SCS for more details about the scholarship. This class is a fundraiser for the Sitka Kitch.

Students should enter the Sitka Lutheran Church through the back entrance (through the alley off Harbor Drive by the old Bev’s Flowers and Gifts location). The door on the right should be open for students to enter. Please do not park in the church’s back parking lot. Please use the public parking lots off Harbor Drive.

The Sitka Kitch also has a new class cancelation policy. If you register for a class, then find out you can’t attend, please email us at sitkakitch@sitkawild.org and we may be able to help fill your slot through our waiting list. If you cancel from the class at least five days in advance (eg, by Wednesday the week before for a Monday class), you are eligible for a partial refund of your class fee, minus $5 for processing (in this case, $35). If you need to cancel with less than five days advance notice, there is no refund.

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Sitka Seafood Festival events kick off this weekend

The Sitka Seafood Festival kicks off Saturday afternoon with a salmon-themed paint and snack event from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, July 20, at the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) Office, 304 Baranof Street.

There are a series of other events, listed below, and more events will be added as they become available.

  • Saturday, July 20, Salmon-Themed Paint and Snack, 1-3pm, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, ALFA, Office (304 Baranof St.), $20 for one ticket and $10 for each additional
  • Sunday, July 21, Boating Without the Boys (women’s only watercraft safety training provided by Alaska Marine Safety Education Association, AMSEA), 8am-4pm, ALFA Office (304 Baranof St.), $125 per person
  • Monday, July 29, Seafood Trivia Night, 7-9pm, Bayview Pub (407 Lincoln St.), no admission charge but donations encouraged
  • Sunday, August 11, Change Your Latitude Open-Water Swim Race (Baranof Barracuda Swim Club), 7am-12pm, Sitka Sound
  • Saturday, August 24, Salmon-Themed Paint and Snack, 1-3pm, ALFA Office (304 Baranof St.), $20 for one ticket and $10 for each additional
  • Monday-Saturday, September 23-28, Marine Safety Inspector Training Course, 8am-5pm, Public Safety Training Academy (877 Sawmill Creek Road), $195

So far, the event organizers haven’t announced a vendor marketplace event or fishing-related races, which have been big draws in the past. Those events could happen in late-August.

The Sitka Seafood Festival is co-sponsored by the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust and the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, who last hosted the event in 2017. For more information, call 747-3400 or contact sitkaseafoodfestival@gmail.com or asft.outreach@gmail.com.

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Scenes from the Sitka Kitch class on how to fillet a salmon held Aug. 7 with the Sitka Seafood Festival

Students learned how to fillet a salmon during a Sitka Kitch class held Tuesday, Aug. 7, in conjunction with the Sitka Seafood Festival. The class took place at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen (505 Sawmill Creek Road, inside First Presbyterian Church).

Renée Jakaitis Trafton, owner/chef at Beak Restaurant, taught the class. Not only did she show students how to get more meat in their fillets, but she also showed them how to pick pinbones and skin the fillet (for those wanting salmon skins to use for arts and crafts.

The salmon used in the class were hatchery kings donated from the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association’s (NSRAA’s) Medvejie Hatchery, and each student in this class received a fillet knife to take home.

The next Sitka Kitch class is a cooking with seaweed class held from 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 14, as part of the Sitka Mermaid Festival. This class will be taught by Sitka Mermaid Festival coordinator Amelia Mosher and Hope Merritt of Gimbal Botanicals. They are still finalizing their plans for the class, but they plan to make something using agar agar (a red seaweed derivative used for jellies and other products). They also could teach a no-bake cheesecake using seaweed and seaweed smoothies.

The cooking with seaweed class costs $27.50, plus a supply/food fee split among the students. The class size is limited, so register early to guarantee your spot in the class. The registration deadline is 11:55 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11. Register online at http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com (click on class title) using a debit or credit card or PayPal account, or call Claire, Chandler or Clarice at Sitka Conservation Society (747-7509) to arrange the drop-off of a cash or check payment. For more information, contact Amelia Mosher at (707) 672-2909, Jasmine Shaw at 747-9440, Claire Sanchez at 747-7509 or email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org.

A slideshow of scenes from the how to fillet a salmon class is posted below.

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Sitka Kitch to host class on how to fillet a salmon Aug. 7 for Sitka Seafood Festival

Sitkans love their seafood, and the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen is offering a great class in conjunction with the Sitka Seafood Festival.

From 6-8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 7, at the Sitka Kitch (505 Sawmill Creek Road, inside First Presbyterian Church), local chef Renée Jakaitis Trafton of Beak Restaurant will teach students how to fillet a salmon. This includes lessons on how to remove the pinbones from the salmon and how to remove the skin.

The Sitka Seafood Festival is providing fish for the class, so there should be no food/supply fee. The class costs $30, which includes a new fillet knife for every student.

The registration deadline is 11:55 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4. Registration is capped at 10 students so sign up early to secure your space in this class. Register online here using a debit or credit card or PayPal account, or call Claire, Chandler or Clarice at Sitka Conservation Society (747-7509) to arrange the drop-off of a cash or check payment. For more information, contact Jasmine Shaw at 747-9440, Claire Sanchez at 747-7509 or email sitkakitch@sitkawild.org.

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Scenes from the Cooking From Scratch Great American Seafood Cook-Off demonstration at the Sitka Kitch

Students learned how to make a variation of national-award-winning chef Lionel Uddipa’s winning dish during a Cooking From Scratch demonstration taught Nov. 9 at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. Chef Nel, of SALT restaurant in Juneau, was brought to town through a partnership with the Sitka Seafood Festival.

During this demonstration, Chef Nel taught students how to make a dish of risotto with Alaska spot prawns, artichokes and pea sprouts. In August, Chef Nel and his sous chef Jacob Packer won the 2017 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in New Orleans, where they made a sea asparagus risotto with Alaska king crab. He switched from king crab to spot prawns for this demonstration due to availability and cost. Chef Nel will have more dishes to sample at the Sitka Conservation Society‘s Wild Foods Potluck from 5-7 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12, at Harrigan Centennial Hall.

This demonstration was offered as part of the Cooking From Scratch class series at the Sitka Kitch, and on Nov. 8 Chef Nel taught students how to make seared coho salmon with orzo pasta and a chicken-veggie stock broth. Here are the remaining Cooking From Scratch classes coming up later in November:

The Cooking from Scratch series goal is to teach basic cooking skills using high-quality ingredients, and to help Sitkans take back their kitchens and reduce their food budgets. Interested individuals can register at https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/ (click on the event title to register). Please pre-pay online using credit/debit cards or PayPal. If you want to pre-pay using cash or check, please contact Chandler, Claire or Clarice at Sitka Conservation Society (747-7509) to arrange payment. We need at least eight students registered for each class to guarantee they happen.

Class size is limited, so register early. The usual class cost is $27.50 per class, plus a food/supply fee that will be divided among registered participants. The registration deadline is late on the second night before each class. For more information about the class series, call Lisa Sadleir-Hart at 747-5985 or Jasmine Shaw at 747-9440.

A slideshow of photos from Thursday’s Great American Seafood Cook-Off demonstration is posted below.

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Scenes from the Cooking From Scratch class on Fish ‘n Veggies at the Sitka Kitch

Students learned how to make seared coho salmon with orzo pasta and chicken-veggie stock during a Cooking From Scratch class taught Nov. 8 at the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen. The class was taught by national-award-winning chef Lionel Uddipa of SALT restaurant in Juneau, who was brought to town through a partnership with the Sitka Seafood Festival.

During this class, students learned how to prepare the chicken stock, how to chop the veggies, how to sear the salmon, how to make the garnish, and more.

Chef Nel and his sous chef Jacob Packer won the 2017 Great American Seafood Cook-Off in August in New Orleans, and from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Sitka Kitch (505 Sawmill Creek Road, inside First Presbyterian Church), Chef Nel will demonstrate a version of his award-winning recipe. He will make sea asparagus risotto with Alaska spot prawns (he used Alaska king crab in the competition, but switched to spot prawns for this demonstration due to availability and cost). This demonstration costs $20 and participants will get a large, nearly meal-sized sample to taste. We will accept walk-in participants for this event, but prefer people pre-register online by 11:55 a.m. Thursday so we know how many supplies we need.

In addition, here are other Cooking From Scratch classes coming up later in November:

There also may be a rescheduled Beans 101 class taught by Lisa Sadleir-Hart in late November or December (this class was originally supposed to take place on Oct. 30).

The Cooking from Scratch series goal is to teach basic cooking skills using high-quality ingredients, and to help Sitkans take back their kitchens and reduce their food budgets. Interested individuals can register at https://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com/ (click on the event title to register). Please pre-pay online using credit/debit cards or PayPal. If you want to pre-pay using cash or check, please contact Chandler, Claire or Clarice at Sitka Conservation Society (747-7509) to arrange payment. We need at least eight students registered for each class to guarantee they happen.

Class size is limited, so register early. The usual class cost is $27.50 per class, plus a food/supply fee that will be divided among registered participants. The registration deadline is late on the second night before each class. For more information about the class series, call Lisa Sadleir-Hart at 747-5985 or Jasmine Shaw at 747-9440.

A slideshow of photos from Wednesday’s Fish ‘n Veggies class is posted below.

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Scenes from the Sitka Kitch classes on filleting and canning salmon for the Sitka Seafood Festival

As part of the rekindled Sitka Seafood Festival, the Sitka Kitch community rental commercial kitchen hosted two classes this week — Tuesday, Aug. 15, on how to fillet a salmon, and Wednesday, Aug. 16, on how to can salmon.

The Tuesday class was taught by Renée Jakaitis Trafton, chef-owner of Beak Restaurant. Renée taught students the basics of filleting a salmon (using freshly caught, ungutted salmon), and she taught them how to pull pinbones and how to skin the fillet.

The Wednesday class was led by Jasmine Shaw, who works for the University of Alaska Fairbanks Cooperative Extension Service‘s Sitka District Office. In addition to teaching students how to can salmon, Jasmine also taught them how to make a simple raspberry-currant jam while the salmon was processing.

Slideshows from both classes are posted below, with the Tuesday class slideshow on top of the Wednesday class. In the Wednesday class slideshow there are photos of several UAF Cooperative Extension Service publications, including several free handouts that can be downloaded off the UAF CES website and a couple of books that can be purchased from Jasmine at her office (contact her at 747-9440 or jdshaw2@alaska.edu to set up a time to get them).

Also, don’t forget the Sitka Kitch still has openings in its Ring Around The Rose Hip class from its Preserving The Harvest class series. You can learn more about our upcoming classes by going to http://sitkakitch.eventsmart.com and clicking on the class title to register.

Tuesday class slideshow

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Wednesday class slideshow

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