Alaska Crafted is Tomorrow!

Last year one of my favorite events was Alaska Crafted, the only tasting festival in the state to feature exclusively locally made beverages. This year it’s back (tomorrow!!!) and promises to be another great time for all, with more than 24 brewers and distillers showcasing as many as 40 Alaska varieties, hailing from Kodiak Island in the Kodiak Archipelago, to Gakona in the east, Sitka in Southeast, to Fox in Alaska’s Interior. Continue reading “Alaska Crafted is Tomorrow!”

Alaska Wedding Collective

Five+ years ago my husband and I said “I do.” Our wedding was ridiculously fun and involved a lot of DIY (my maid of honor and her family actually BUILT US A WEDDING WALL complete with photos of our parents and grandparents on their wedding days and my mom made my wedding skirt) and pitching in by family and friends. Of course, plenty of wedding vendors were part of the day as well (favorites were Riza Brown and Josh Martinez, then of Chugach Peaks Photography) and I was lucky to find them (and would choose them 96,797,098,908 times over) during a time when Anchorage event planning felt fairly dated.

Since then, our local wedding scene has exploded with new wedding vendors, offering couples a seemingly endless array of options to create special occasions that effortlessly emphasize their personalities. On February 14, many of them displayed their talents at the Alaska Wedding Collective, an event offering interactive “action stations” to provide a truly special experience for attendees. Although my marrying days are long behind me I enjoyed every moment, probably because the evening felt more like a fun party than a wedding show.

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Bambinos Frozen Baby Food

Zoi!

Don’t be surprised if someday Anchorage’s Zoi Maroudas-Tziolas rules the world of baby food (or maybe straight up rules the world). She founded Babmino’s Frozen Baby Food during 2012 and after learning more about it, I’m convinced that it’s the future of fine dining (and casual dining, and snacking) for all the little people in our lives.

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Naturally Effervescent: Zip Kombucha

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The times, they are a changing here in Alaska. It’s impossible to know what the future will look like, but we all know it will be different. I still believe that Anchorage (and Alaska as a whole) is a place where you can thrive, and despite dire rumblings about state budgets and oil prices, the Alaskan entrepreneurial spirit remains strong. For every depressing news story I read, I learn about a new business opening its doors.

Case in point: Zip Kombucha.

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Downtown Dining Week

Sullivans Steakhouse

Downtown Dining Week is finally here!

Replacing the Anchorage Downtown Partnership’s 100 Days of DiningDowntown Dining Week features set-priced specials for lunch ($10 or $15) and multi-course dinners ($30) at 26 restaurants throughout Downtown Anchorage from April 8 – 17. No more card and stickers, no more app, just delicious food from some of Anchorage’s most creative and talented chefs.

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