2014 Tape & Tarp Ball!

The Tape & Tarp Ball is fast approaching! This is your opportunity to show off your fashion sense and creativity using the most Alaskan of materials: duct tape, Ty-vek, tarps, visqueen, shrink wrap, and many other down-to-earth, utilitarian, recycled or otherwise dumpster-dived materials that can be found in every Alaskan's repertoire of repair and manufacture materials. Apply them to high fashion (a.ka. haute couture) and compete via People's Choice (ballot stuffing with dollars)! We have prizes from Tolovana Hot Springs, Water Wagon, Gold Hill Liquor & Gas, and more!

Tape & Tarp poster, designed by Sue Sprinkle, owner, 5th Avenue Design & Graphics, Inc. Photos by Monique Musick. 

Senator Begich and Seedstock

Well, Seedstock was a tiny affair, but we received a lot of seeds nonetheless: four varieties of tomatoes, one variety of peas, mixed greens, and six or seven varieties of grains (rye, barley, wheat, and oats). There was a lively discussion about the merits of hugelkultur, a type of permaculture gardening that works very well for at least one local gardener.

Senator Mark Begich showed up and was quite interested in our plans for the new building, asking questions about how it would work and offering suggestions for how we might get it funded.

Senator Begich at the John Trigg Ester Library's Clausen Cabin on Feb. 2, 2014, reviewing the draft plan/explanatory poster for the new library building's Passive House design with board president Deirdre Helfferich. 

Later, as people arrived to speak with the Senator, the topic shifted from the library to everything from Pebble Mine to Social Security.

From left to right: Senator Begich, Mike Musick, Ritchie Musick,  JTEL board vice president Phil Rulon, Charlie Gallagher. In the foreground: JTEL board president Deirdre Helfferich.

Senator Begich coming to Seedstock

Senator Begich will be one of the guests at Seedstock tomorrow, staying from 12:45 to 1:30. He'll say a few words and then take questions and comments.

This is a function that libraries typically fulfill: providing a public meeting space where ideas may be exchanged, both through the medium of the written word but also the meeting of minds through conversation. Senators, Congresspeople, legislators, and the like often meet people they don't ordinarily have a chance to talk informally with at events like ours, providing another means for democratic participation in government.

So come out and have a conversation with your senator as well as your neighbor!