Friends of Eaglecrest's first blueberry festival proves successful, profitable
The Friends of Eaglecrest hosted their first Blueberry Festival at Eaglecrest on Aug. 16 and 17, where the community support for the event was more than we anticipated. We are happy to report that it was not only tasty and fun but also profitable.
Channel Bowl Cafe cooks Laurie Berg, Marta Lastufka and Kathleen Wiest, helped assist Friends of Eaglecrest volunteers serve roughly 350 pancake meals. We would like to extend a big thank you to all who joined us for those tasty blueberry pancakes.
We had ten booths in our farmer's market, including two local wood workers, a local artist and crafter, West Power Adventure Consignment Shop, Alaska Hydro Sports, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Juneau Co-op Preschool, Juneau Arts and Humanities Council and the Friends of Eaglecrest. We were pleased to hear that the event was a success for both the vendors and the nonprofit groups.
Paula Wright, a local artist and crafter, enjoyed the event and believes future events will attract other local artists and craft makers.
She was a tremendous support to the Friends of Eaglecrest and helped raise money for our group at the event by commemorating the 1st Annual Blueberry Festival with its very own unique poster. She has offered to continue these unique posters for future Blueberry Festivals at Eaglecrest.
Big Brothers Big Sisters sold all the tickets they brought for the day, totaling over $500 for their organization. We are also happy to report that Eaglecrest sold 40 seasons passes and a bunch of lockers. The Friends of Eaglecrest signed up 46 new members and made roughly $2,400 through the pancake feed, membership dues and other donations! Thank You!
In addition to the Farmer's Market, we hosted a drumming and percussion workshop orchestrated by Bill Glude, and we had three groups play music in the afternoon: Teri Tibbett, Contra Dance Band and Urbana Desert. These bands volunteered their time and talent, and we greatly appreciate it! Other activities during the day included kids' games and the Blueberry Culinary Contest. Winners of the culinary contest included Sheila Box, with her Very Berry Cornbread; Emily Keithahn and Max Christoferson, with their Blue Scat Cheesecake; and Benthe Mertle, with her Blueberry/Raspberry Cobbler.
For these events, local businesses supplied a nice selection of prizes. We would like to extend many thanks to the businesses that helped to support our event: Nugget Alaskan Outfitter, Glacier Computer Services, Alaska Wooden Toys, Heritage Coffee Company, Costco, Galigaskins, Annie Kaill's, Gourmet Alaska, Borderline, Alaskan Hotel, Alaskan Brewing Company, Foggy Mountain Shop, Capital Records, Mountain Gears and the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council.
Thanks again to all who helped with the event, and to all of you who came up and participated! Eaglecrest is your mountain recreation area - let's keep it that way. Show your support, buy a seasons pass, drag your parents up there this year or just come up and buy some yummy French fries. And don't forget to join the Friends of Eaglecrest at www.friendsofeaglecrest.org!