Events
Alaska Railroad
We're one block from the railroad depot
Use the Anchorage Grand Hotel as your headquarters while you take day trips on the Alaska Railroad. Our hotel is located a mere one block from the depot. Enjoy breakfast in your cozy suite and then amble down to board your train. No taxis, no rental cars needed.
Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Winter Festival
February 22–March 3, 2019
Since 1935, Fur Rendezvous—known locally as Fur Rondy—has proudly represented the pioneering spirit of Alaskans. In addition to more than 20 official cultural and sporting activities, the Anchorage community hosts nearly 50 Rondy Round Town events, offering wacky winter fun for all ages.
In 2019 we celebrate 84 years!
Anchorage Downtown Farmers Market
May 12 to September 9th Located at 3rd & E St.
Just across the street!
Want to see real Alaska veggies? Need to pick up Alaska gifts for those back at home? Slip out the front door of our hotel, cross the street and you're at the famous Anchorage Downtown Farmers Market.
Alaska Center for Performing Arts
I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change
Date: February 14th through March 10th
The longest running off-Broadway revue in history has been revised for the 21st century! This celebration of the mating game takes on the truths and myths behind that contemporary conundrum known as “the relationship.” Act I explores the journey from dating and waiting to love and marriage, while Act II reveals the agonies and triumphs of in-laws and newborns, trips in the family car and pick-up techniques of the geriatric set. This hilarious revue pays tribute to those who have loved and lost, to those who have fallen on their face at the portal of romance, to those who have dared to ask, “Say, what are you doing Saturday night?” The 2018 version features two new songs, revised lyrics, and dialogue throughout the show to reflect dating in modern times.
A Downtown Start for Iditarod
Date: March 2, 2019
Time: 10 a.m.
Location: 4th & D, Downtown Anchorage
The Iditarod course begins on Fourth Avenue at D Street and runs all the way to Campbell Creek Science Center. Onlookers get a close-up view of the teams. Spectators flock to the start line downtown or stake out a spot further down the 11-mile route through Anchorage. After a restart at Willow the following day, Iditarod mushers and their dogs battle the elements and test their own limits on the approximately 1,000-mile trail to Nome.
Skinny Raven Pub Run
Date: Feb 20–Oct 30
Times: 9:30 a.m.
Admission: $10/Child - $150/Team
Location: 5th Ave and F St
Dress up and hit the payment for a Saturday morning family event! 5K or 2.5K Fun run, there's a time and pace for everyone. Put your creativity hat on and don an outrageous getup for the Costume Contest - great prizes for groups, families, and individuals!! The race begins at the Fifth Avenue Skywalk (in front of the Egan Center).
Anchorage Museum
ELIZABETH EERO IRVING, SONGS OF THE RIVER
October 19,2018–February 3, 2019
Elizabeth Irving’s paintings present a mythological interpretation of the Alaska landscape, reflecting a lifetime lived in the far North with formative years spent on the vast, silt-laden Tanana River.
She says her understanding of landscape is complex and personal, inspiring dreamlike images of landscapes in her paintings. According to Irving, the works in this exhibition use boat and river to symbolize the soul’s spiritual travel from the earthly plane to other dimensions.
Informing her process in these works are stories from Egyptian lore, Native American spiritual rites, Greek mythology and stories from her own Viking ancestry. What results within the earthen hues of her large oil paintings is, in her words, “a metaphorical representation of change and transformation.”
ALL-ALASKA BIENNIAL 2018
October 19,2018–February 3, 2019
All-Alaska Biennial features contemporary work by Alaska artists. This juried exhibition is a continuation of the museum’s All-Alaska Juried and Earth, Fire & Fibre exhibitions, which began more than 30 years ago to encourage the creation of new works in all media by Alaska artists. Guest juror Candice Hopkins is a citizen of Carcross/Tagish First Nation in Yukon, Canada, and is an independent curator and writer based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The exhibition’s call for entries drew 634 submissions from 161 artists. Works include drawing, painting, mixed media, craft, jewelry, fiber art, visual art, metalsmithing, printmaking, encaustic, ceramic, book/paper arts, photography, and sculpture.
Hopkins selected Anchorage artist Kristy Summers’ mixed-media piece Descend for the Juror’s Choice Award, with honorable mentions going to Anchorage artist Christopher Judd’s oil on linen on board painting, Grandma; and Anchorage photographer Mark Stadsklev’s photography giclée print No Way Out. The exhibition travels to other Alaska locations throughout Summer 2019.
GERTRUDE SVARNY: UKUQANAADAN
September 7, 2018–April 14, 2019
Gertrude Svarny grew up in Unalaska until she was evacuated and interned during World War II along with nearly 900 Unangax people of the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands. Those who survived and returned home found their communities ransacked and burned. Today, Svarny lives in Unalaska, where she makes her artwork.
Although Svarny painted in her younger years, it wasn’t until age 51 that she dedicated her life to making art. She is an accomplished weaver, bentwood artist, and ivory and soapstone carver. Within all of her works are traditional materials—pigments made of local minerals, decoration created from sinew, seal intestine and sea lion whiskers—and a distinct interpretation of Unangan history and culture.
Svarny’s work is housed in numerous permanent collections around the world. In 2017, she was honored with a Distinguished Artist Award from the Rasmuson Foundation and received an Alaska Federation of Native President’s Award for her involvement in the arts.
The Power of Energy
October 5, 2018 - April 21, 2019
We use it for everything from feeding ourselves to shooting through space, and yet energy itself is not easily understood. This exhibition presents unexpected discoveries about how we think and talk about energy, the concepts of embodied energy and energy density, and renewable energy sources, from the traditional oil lamp used by the Inuit, Chukchi and Yupik peoples of the Arctic, to the chemical energy in batteries that power today’s electric vehicles. Through interactive displays, public discussions and educational programs, The Power of Energy recalls humans’ first encounters with fire and draft animals, considers the myriad uses of energy in the 21st century and ponders what might be next.
Aiviq and Nanuq, Sea Horse and Sea Bear of the Arctic
October 5, 2018- May 12, 2019
Perhaps no creatures better reflect the climate, landscape and culture of Alaska and the Arctic than the walrus and polar bear. Power and vulnerability coexist within these giants living in a massive Arctic – a distinct region known for its own striking contrasts. They are animals nearly without equal in size and strength. Yet perhaps their greatest strength – and weakness – comes from the ability to adapt to a changing world and a warming climate. Their lives have entwined with humans for centuries. To the first peoples of the Arctic and sub-Arctic, walrus (aiviq) and polar bear (nanuq) each have been predator, co-habitant, sustenance and spiritual ally. To generations of artists and culture-bearers, these remarkable creatures are both material and muse. They have been revered for centuries, studied by scientists, commodified by pop culture and manipulated by politicians. Through the lens of artists and artworks from Alaska and around the world, this 8,000-square-foot exhibition at the Anchorage Museum explores the ways these iconic animals offer important insight into the culture of the North and its complex future.