Wes Young’s sweater was among the oddest if not the ugliest at the Alaskan Hotel and Bar’s ugly Christmas sweater and clothing drive Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018.(Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Wes Young’s sweater was among the oddest if not the ugliest at the Alaskan Hotel and Bar’s ugly Christmas sweater and clothing drive Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018.(Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Bad sweaters and a good cause

The Alaskan held an ugly sweater party and a clothing drive

The sweaters were ugly, but the cause was not.

The Alaskan Hotel and Bar hosted an ugly Christmas sweater party Saturday night that doubled as a clothing drive.

“Juneau is a small community, and you should give back,” said Angie Erickson, bar manager.

Erickson said any gently used clothing collected during the night was destined for Aiding Women in Abuse and Rape Emergencies (AWARE), Juneau’s gender-inclusive shelter for survivors of gender-based violence.

As the event wore on, bags of donated clothing stacked up behind the bar.

Eric Bleicher, a friend of Erickson’s, dropped off some shirts he hadn’t worn in a while and hoped would help someone in need.

“I had to run home for something, and it dawned on me it’d be a good way to make sure it went to a good use.”

The idea for the first-ever ugly sweater party and charity drive was a a group effort, although Erickson predominantly credited bartender Amara Enciso with the idea.

“We decided to throw something people could come out and do,” Enciso said. “The weather is getting to everybody.”

A sub-freezing temperature outside and windy blasts of snow whipping across Franklin Street underscored her point.

Inside the bar, Christmas music played over the speakers, Christmas lights twinkled and both staff and customers wore appropriately unseemly seasonal sweaters.

“You have to go out and hunt,” Enciso said.

She wore a sweater decorated with a moose, a Christmas tree and animal tracks while tending bar. “This is vintage. I got it in the Valley. The senior section is the best.”

Wes Young came to the party wearing a secondhand find that Enciso dubbed “epic” and a Santa hat with Grinch-colored feather trim.

“It’s the ugliest setup of a sweater,” Young said.

Young’s shapeless, ribbed burgundy sweater displaying the hindquarters of a reindeer with a stream of jingly ornaments emanating from beneath its tail.

Young said the back half of the deer seemed to just be felt someone affixed to the sweater.

“It’s kind of got a weird smell to it,” Young said. “It’s nothing a shot won’t fix.”

Not everyone’s getup was secondhand.

Josh Fortenbery came wearing a specially bought ugly sweater, a Green Bay Packers cardigan. Fortenberry also dropped off a bag of items for the clothing drive.

“It’s a cool idea,” Fortenberry said. “There’s a lot of ugly sweater parties in town. It’s nice there’s one where you can have fun and do something good, too.”


• Contact arts and culture reporter Ben Hohenstatt at (907)523-2243 or bhohenstatt@juneauempire.com.


Josh Fortenberry shows off his ugly Packers sweater after dropping off clothing at the Alaskan hotel and Bar’s ugly sweater party and clothing drive Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

Josh Fortenberry shows off his ugly Packers sweater after dropping off clothing at the Alaskan hotel and Bar’s ugly sweater party and clothing drive Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. (Ben Hohenstatt | Capital City Weekly)

More in Home

West Juneau homes on Douglas Island late Thursday afternoon. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
What will Trump as president again and a more liberal Alaska Legislature mean for Juneau?

Election appears to shake up federal and state governments in different ways, leaving lots of unknowns.

Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 48, the carbon credits bill, on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, in the Alaska House. At background is Department of Resources Commissioner John Boyle and staff supporting the bill. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska House control flips from predominantly Republican coalition to mostly Democratic coalition

Preliminary election results show the new House majority will have at least 22 members.

Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé senior Parker Boman and sophomore Kennedy Miller swim the 100 breaststroke final at the Region V Championships last weekend in the Petersburg Aquatic Center. (Klas Stolpe / Juneau Empire)
Crimson Bears about to plunge into state swim championships

Girls look to defend team title behind top qualifying times, boys look to earn top-five team placing.

Aurelie Alexander photographs a helicopter hoisting cellular equipment onto the roof of the Marine View building at midday Wednesday. As a resident of the apartment/office building, she and others were notified to leave the building during the helicopter operation. (Laurie Craig / Juneau Empire)
Hovering around downtown for better phone service

New AT&T equipment installed atop Marine View Building joins other telecom upgrades downtown.

A simulated photo shows the tailings stack and other features of Hecla Greens Creek Mine under the final notice of decision for expanding the mine announced Thursday by the U.S Forest Service. The expansion will extend the life of the mine up to 18 years. (U.S. Forest Service)
Extending Greens Creek Mine production for 12 to 18 years gets final OK from Forest Service

Agency says there will also be more habitat protection measures and mine waste disposal capacity.

The Columbia is scheduled to replace the Kennicott on the mainline ferry route between Southeast Alaska and Bellingham, Washington, starting in mid-December. (Alaska Marine Highway System photo)
Proposed summer ferry schedule for 2025 remains much the same, with Columbia replacing Kennicott

Public comments being accepted until Nov. 12, with virtual meetings scheduled that day.

A weather-beaten Kamala Harris campaign sign is seen on the railing along a downtown street on Wednesday. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
How Juneau voted: Support for Trump varies between 55% near airport to 15.7% in downtown precinct

Voters in two local districts favor keeping ranked choice voting, while statewide residents evenly split.

A sperm whale is seen in an undated photo published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (NOAA photo)
Southeast Alaska fisher could get six months in prison after attempting to kill sperm whale

Federal prosecutors are recommending that an Alaska fisher serve six months in… Continue reading

Most Read