People camp above a river on Sunday, July 31, 2022 near Hope, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Out of the Office: Festival season

Something nobody told me about Alaska is how many festivals there are in the summer. Having moved to the Kenai Peninsula in the middle of the pandemic, it’s likely that many of the summer events I’ve spent so much time enjoying are making a post-pandemic resurgence.

I don’t consider myself a particularly outgoing person — I don’t like crowds or loud noises — but I’ve come to cherish Alaska’s bluegrass scene. Whether it’s music in Hope, the Solstice Festival in Moose Pass or Salmonfest in Ninilchik, it seems like there’s always fodder for a fun summer night.

It’s for those reasons that I had no reservations about tagging along with some friends to a packrafting and bluegrass “festival” off of the Hope Highway at the end of July. Aside from a mob of cars — mostly Subarus — there was nothing along the road that indicated the festivities underway about a mile into the woods.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

We parked the car at a dangerous tilt and followed the young people into the trees. We popped out at one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. A gushing glacial river swirled between an emerald green mountain and the trail from which we’d just come. On the rocky shore, clusters of people danced and laughed around a bonfire.

A blowtorch was set off intermittently from the makeshift stage, where artists performed bluegrass, political spoken word poetry and — at the end of the night — hard metal. A man in the corner cooked hot dogs all night long for anyone who wanted one. Dogs of all types ran amid the crowd.

I had one of those moments that I’ve experienced only since moving to Alaska. The kind of moment where I stop and go, “This is incredible,” to myself. Every time I think I’ve seen the best of the peninsula, it shows me something better. I’m certainly going to miss the summer events, but winter brings its own lineup of ways to get together.

As we enter the magical season of autumn in Alaska, it’s hard not to feel excited about what lies ahead.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in Sports

tease
Sunday: Twins sweep Dimond

Post 20’s Harper throws shutout in league game

Post 20's Jayden Stuyvesant flies out to left field against West on Friday, June 13, 2025, at Coral Seymour Memorial Park in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Friday: Twins lose league game, win nonleague game vs. West

The American Legion Post 20 Twins split a doubleheader against West Post… Continue reading

tease
Thursday: Twins split with Service

The American Legion Post 20 Twins split with Service on Thursday at… Continue reading

tease
Brown Bears select 7 in NAHL Entry Draft

The Kenai River Brown Bears selected seven players in the North American… Continue reading

tease
Monday: Twins open season with victory over Bartlett

The American Legion Post 20 Twins opened their season in Anchorage with… Continue reading

tease
Area track and field athletes compete at Brian Young Invitational

The 400-meter relay of William Klein, Brenden Jones, Lokeni Wong and Tyce… Continue reading

Nick Varney
Reeling ‘Em In: Tourism season shifts into overdrive on packed Spit

On weekends, keeping your head on a swivel is a must.

Soldotna's Kristin Davis and Ruby Davis lead Kenai's Rustin Hitchcock at the Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra on Friday, June 6, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Dickerson outlasts competition at Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra

Anchorage’s Julianne Dickerson won the fourth Tsalteshi Backyard Ultra on Friday and… Continue reading

tease
SoHi 2nd, Kenai 3rd at Division II state softball

The Soldotna and Kenai Central softball teams both had the best finishes… Continue reading

Most Read