In honor of the Week of the Arctic, the Fairbanks Community is proud to host the Celebration of the Arctic on Wednesday, May 10 from 4:30 to 8:30 at numerous locations in downtown Fairbanks.
The Celebration of the Arctic is a downtown-wide block party open to everyone – fabulous locals and visiting “Week of the Arctic” guests, alike. Activities includes a Business Showcase (featuring locally-based businesses that specialize in the Arctic and Arctic-related products), children’s activities at the Fairbanks Children’s Museum, Alaska Native cultural events, a public lecture by Halla Hrund Logadottir from Iceland, numerous food vendors (including Between the Buns, Locos Tacos, Shave Ice Sisters and Grandma’s Genuine Navajo Tacos), live music and performances (like Emily Anderson and the Pavva Iñupiaq Dancers), and an “Arctic Crawl” featuring northern-themed adult beverages. Are you excited? We’re excited.
For a detailed list of events and venues, please click here.
What is the Week of the Arctic?
The Week of the Arctic is exactly what it sounds like – a week celebrating the Arctic! The week, hosted by the Alaska Arctic Council Host Committee, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Anchorage Museum and numerous other community groups — is a week full of presentations, workshops, receptions and cultural celebrations highlighting key themes and accomplishments of the Arctic Council and broader Arctic efforts.
What is the Arctic Council?
The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum (think Secretaries of State or Foreign Ministers) that focuses on issues faced by Arctic governments and indigenous people of the Arctic. The council has eight member countries: Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States.
What is a Ministerial Meeting?
A Ministerial Meeting is a meeting of the council’s high-level members, usually including Secretaries of State and Foreign Ministers. The United States currently holds the council’s chairmanship, which began in 2015. It will run through the meeting in Fairbanks a which point Finland will assume the chairmanship. The council holds Senior Arctic Officials’ meetings roughly every six months and ministerial meetings roughly every two years. The next Ministerial Meeting is schedule to be in Fairbanks on May 11.
[Read more on the Arctic Council coming to Fairbanks.]
The event is sponsored by the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Spirit of Alaska Federal Credit Union, Northern Alaska Tour Company, 1st Alaska Outdoor School, UA Local 375 Plumbers & Pipefitters, OIPC, UAF, Alaska Aerofuel, The Worthington’s, Apocalypse Design, Alaska EPSCoR, GHEMM Company, RAVN Alaska, Equipment Source, Inc., MAC Federal Credit Union, GoNorth Car & RV Rental, Arctic Alaska Peonies Coop, Fairbanks Westmark Hotel & Conference Center, Alaska Railroad, Lifewater Engineering, Petro Star, Doyon Limited, City of Fairbanks, Explore Fairbanks, the Downtown Association of Fairbanks, the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce, Fairbanks Economic Development Corporation and the Alaska Center for Energy and Power.
Do you want to be a sponsor? You can learn more about sponsorship and then visit our sponsorship form to make a donation to the Downtown Association of Fairbanks Community Services (501c3).