News Release
New Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center Hosts Public Opening Celebration
Anchorage, Alaska – Oct. 08, 2008 – Anchorage residents are invited to see the latest addition to the Anchorage Convention District. The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau (ACVB) and Municipality of Anchorage are hosting a free public opening celebration to showcase the new Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center and related facilities Oct. 18 & 19, 2008. The event includes the Dena’ina Center’s first trade show – Octane & Oxygen Expo – as well as a street fair along F Street, free Warren Miller movies in the Egan Center and entertainment, theme and wedding event décor demos and family activities inside the Dena’ina Center.
“The public opening celebration not only honors the Dena’ina people – the namesake of the facility, but also provides an avenue for people to see different ways the Dena’ina Center can bue used,” said Julie Saupe, ACVB president and CEO. “This event will be fun for the entire family with entertainment, kid’s activities, Native art demonstrations, the ACVB critters and more.”
Hours for the opening celebration are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 18, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 19. The Oxygen & Octane Expo, also free to the public, will be held in the Dena’ina Center Exhibition Hall during the same hours, as well as from 4 to 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 17, 2008. A Dena’ina Center ribbon cutting and Dena’ina Elder blessing ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday morning, just outside of the main entrance to the building. The ribbon cutting will be followed by a noon unveiling of Alaska History Walk: A Journey to Statehood. Sixteen permanent bronze plaques will be displayed along 7th Avenue between E & F Streets, depicting significant events in Alaska’s rich past. The walk is part of the 50th Anniversary of statehood celebration.
Highlights of the street fair along F Street to Town Square include appearances by Iditarod Mushers Martin Buser and Dee Dee Jonrowe, live radio remotes, fire truck demos, non-profit booths and race cars from the Kirk Bros. Motor Sports Racing Team. Inside the Dena’ina Center, find musical entertainment by Pamyua, the Snapping Turtle Swing Band, the Tomodachi Taiko Drummers and more. There also will be working Alaska Native artists, bird demos by the Bird Treatment & Learning Center, bridal and fashion shows and the chance to meet players from the Alaska Dream basketball and Alaska Wild football teams. The ACVB critters will be on hand and kids can enjoy puppet shows and other entertainment, as well as get a Big Wild Life tattoo.
If considering a wedding or holding an event at the Dena’ina Center, check out the various meeting room demos, offering a variety of ideas for themes, colors and décor for special events in the Center. Club Brrr will be an ice-themed nightclub, showcasing one of the ways the Executive Board Room in the Dena’ina Center could be used to host a private function.
Oxygen & Octane EXPO, a winter travel and recreation trade show, will offer more than 250 booths on everything from lodges and cold-weather apparel to truck and trailer tow systems. See the latest in snowmachines, package tours, ski resort options and other ways to find winter fun in the Last Frontier. Admission to Oxygen & Octane is free.
On Sunday, free screenings of Warren Miller ski films will be shown in the Egan Center. See Off the Grid (2006) at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m., or No Boundaries Highlight (2007) at 12:30 p.m. or 5:30 p.m. Showings are approximately 90 minutes and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis. A pair of tickets to the 2008 Warren Miller film Children of Winter will be given away at each of the free four classic showings on Sunday.
The Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s (ACVB) mission is to attract and serve visitors to the Municipality of Anchorage as a Destination Marketing Organization (DMO). ACVB’s marketing functions are funded by one-third of the bed tax collected by lodging associations. One-third goes to the Municipality’s general fund, a contribution established in 1978, and one-third goes to the construction and annual maintenance costs of the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center and the William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center. ACVB receives no state or federal funds. Explore www.Anchorage.net for more information.
Media Contacts:
Nance Larsen, APR
Vice President, Communications & Marketing Programs
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
pr@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118
Explore www.Anchorage.net
Jeanette Anderson Moores
Public Relations
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
mooreswj@gci.net
(907) 229-6925 (cell)
