NEWS RELEASE
Celebrating Alaska – Spirit of the Wild:
Alaska Float Captures Essence of Alaska – Past, Present, Future
Sponsor:
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau, Explore www.Anchorage.net
Float Builder:
Fiesta Parade Floats with Raul Rodriquez, float designer, www.FiestaParadeFloats.com
Dimensions:
22 feet wide, 55 feet long, and 18 feet high
Annimation:
Moose and bear turn their heads in realistic movements, and steam rises from the Alaska Railroad engine
Description:
On Alaska’s inaugural appearance in the Tournament of Roses Rose Parade, its float is led off by a musher and husky dogs ready to take off on the world-famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The race is one of the most famous dog mushing races in the world, and symbolic of the sport in Alaska. The musher, Libby Riddles, was the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985. The race runs over a 1,049-mile trail that stretches from Anchorage to Nome, and was once used to disperse mail and other supplies to rural Alaska villages. In 1925, teams charged down the trail to Nome in a desperate relay to deliver life-saving diphtheria serum to Nome and save the stricken, who were temporarily cut off from air deliveries by a severe cold snap. Today, the race epitomizes the spirit of community and determination that define Alaska and Alaskans.
The Iditarod is the biggest stage in the state for serious racers, but the team’s presence on the float is also meant to recognize mushing as the official state sport of Alaska. From casual weekend mushers to serious racers, thousands of Alaskans participate in and enjoy dog mushing.
The Alaska Railroad was a driving force in Alaska’s development and has been involved in nearly every major economic development in the state. The work camp established at the head of Turnagain Arm later became Alaska’s largest city, Anchorage. The track spans the wilderness between Seward and Whittier to the south and Fairbanks to the north, covering over 600 miles of beautiful Alaska scenery. Along the way, stops in Anchorage, Talkeetna and Denali National Park & Preserve highlight the route before its conclusion in Fairbanks. The Alaska Railroad is a full-service railroad offering both freight and passenger service and a comprehensive array tour options. In 2009, the Alaska Railroad is celebrating Alaska’s 50th anniversary of statehood with a special offer for anyone turning 50 in 2009: a free day of rail travel anywhere along the Alaska Railroad’s route.
A good deal of the wildlife depicted on this float can be seen by awestruck Railroad passengers as they witness the unsurpassed natural wonder that is this great state.
The grizzly bear emerging with salmon in its jaw is symbolic of Alaska, and is shown on the U.S. Mint’s 49th commemorative quarter in its 50 State Quarters program. The proud moose is prevalent throughout the state. Other wildlife shown include the prolific salmon, puffins, a great whale diving into the northern waters and of course, world-famous Alaska king crab. The float is crowned with the American bald eagle, found in abundance in Alaska’s coastal communities and beyond.
Most Alaskans, regardless of whether they live inland or along the coast, rely on the state’s abundant waters. Lake Iliamna in Southwest Alaska is 1,000 square miles in area, and thousands of rivers and creeks braid across the landscape. The kayakers on Alaska’s float symbolize our reliance on the waters of our state for wild Alaska seafood, for unparalleled recreational opportunities, as a connection between communities, and as a means of conducting commerce. Kimberly Dullen, Miss World Eskimo-Indian Olympics and Miss Fairbanks Native Association is one kayaker and Manuel Tumuluk, a Native Youth Olympics and WEIO world record holder is the other.
Perhaps most famous symbol of Alaska is Mount McKinley, which is also known by its Alaska Native name, Denali, meaning “the great one.” The mountain is North America’s highest peak at 20,320 feet.
Four individuals – two on each side of the float representing a hiker, mountain runners, and a sports fisherman – are the winners of the Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Tournament of Roses Sweepstakes. Kolin O’Daniels and son Connor hail from Fairbanks, Alaska, and Cary Ann Libershal and friend Laura Wagner are from Anchorage. All four embrace Alaska’s warm hospitality, frontier spirit and outdoor recreational opportunities, and jumped at the once-in-a-lifetime chance of riding on the Alaska float.
The 10 Alaska Native drummers and dancers performing alongside the 55-foot long, 22 foot wide, and 18 feet high float were organized by Stephen Blanchett, of the 2003 Native American Music Industry award-winning musical group Pamyua. The artists are performing songs and dances from the far North region of Alaska in the style of the Inupiaq/Siberian Yup’ik people. Performers include Stephen Blanchett, Benjamin Crew, Phillip Kairaiuak, Lori Bean, Alice Moses, Danielle Shavings, Debra Dommek, David Thomas, Christopher Tom, and Julianne Tumulak. The songs they perform come from the Pamyua CD “Drums of the North.”
As with all floats in the Tournament of Roses Parade, the Alaska creation is fully covered in organic material, some of which is from Alaska. The Ketchikan Convention & Visitors Bureau provided several boxes of a feather moss, scientific name: Hylocomium splendens, more commonly known as Stair step moss. It is one of the most abundant of the mosses that flourish in the boreal (another word for temperate rain) forest of southeast Alaska. It can be found on rocks, trees, etc. and its color is affected by the amount of sunlight it is exposed. The moss was collected from fallen trees in a forested area in Ketchikan.
The Alaska Botanical Gardens, located in Anchorage, provided three types of vegetation:
1) Spruce boughs:
One of the most dominant tree species in the sub-arctic or "boreal" forest is Spruce (often incorrectly confused with Pines, which are common in Montana, Washington, Oregon, and the rest of the Pacific Northwest and Canada). The most common type of spruce in Southcentral Alaska and the Alaska Botanical Garden is White Spruce (Picea glauca var. porsildii), which also has the distinction of being the northernmost tree species in North America (it is found even at latitude 69 N, in the Mackenzie River Delta). White spruce wood has a long history of use for furniture and musical instruments, in papermaking, and most commonly as lumber and pulpwood. The sap was used as a sealant, pitch, and chewing gum; the roots in basket weaving. High in vitamin C, spruce tips were used as a tea; spruce shoots, tips, and bark were used medicinally in several cultures for respiratory complaints and antiseptic purposes.
2) Alder "cones":
The alder twigs and catkins (cone-like fruit) provided from the Alaska Botanical Garden are representative of a very common Alaska shrub. Alaska has a variety of Alders, some of which grow as shrubs, and other, which can reach tree-size. The roots of alders fix nitrogen from the air and enrich the soil, like beans, peas, and other legumes. A member of the Birch family, Alder has a long history and variety of ethnobotanical use, from basket weaving, to fabric dyeing, to smoking fish, to medicinal infusions for colds, congestion, and pain relief. Some species of alder present in Alaska: Siberian Alder (Alnus fruticosa), Mountain Alder (Alnus crispa), Red Alder (Alnus rubra), Thin-Leaf Alder (Alnus tenufifolia, also known as Alnus incana, subspecies/tenufifolia/), and Sitka Alder (Alnus sinuata).
3) Moss-like hanging tree lichens:
The mossy-looking plant that hangs from trees in many Alaskan forests is actually one of a few different types of lichens, which are actually comprised of a symbiotic combination of Fungi and green algae—or, in some cases, a blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). The algae provide food via photosynthesis and the fungi provide protection and shelter for the algae. Like "canaries in the coal mine", Lichens are valuable "bioindicators" which are used for air quality monitoring and environmental chemical sampling, since they reflect environmental health and quality. The Alaska Botanical Gardens provided Gray horsehair lichen (Bryoria capillaris) is pale gray to a darker smoky brown; it is most common in old growth forest and forested peatlands. Other varieties of "arboreal hair lichens" in Alaska, include: Witch’s hair (/Alectoria sarmentosa/) is pale greenish with white surface ridges and ihangs loosely in all types of forest from sea level to alpine. Methuselah’s beard (/Usnea longissima/) hangs in loose, stringy strands and is usually pale greenish white in color, and prefers humid forests near salt water, such as areas of Southeast Alaska. Usnea species have documented antibiotic qualities, and has been used medicinally in many cultures since ancient times. (/Usnea cratina/)/(Bryoria trichodes).
More than 40,000 roses and 15,000 stems of orchids are used on this float. Other organic materials include white Avalanche and Akito roses with accents of crisp white coconut chips, a fino and ming moss with uva and pampas grass, lavender phalaenopsis, cattleya and dendrobium orchids, silverleaf protea, pharmitas grass, and wild dock. White sweet rice, black onion seed, lunaria, round leaf eucalyptus, black seaweed, clover seed, gold and yellow strawflower petals, red and crisp white carnations, and blue sinuate statice.
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:
Jeanette Anderson MooresPublic Relations
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
jmoores@anchorage.net
(907) 276-4118
Explore www.Anchorage.net
Jennifer Thompson
Public Relations
Anchorage Convention & Visitors Bureau
jennifer@bernholzandgraham.com
(907) 561-4488
