The 10th annual Alaska Sacred Harp Convention was even more amazing than we had been led to believe.
The Alaska singers, under the leadership of Kari Lundgren, found the best place for us to watch the Alaska Day parade, they took us hiking in the hills, and they took us whale watching out on the bay. The Sitka singers even provided housing for the week — we filled the Sitka youth hostel, and it was great fun to sit up to all hours talking with Sacred Harp singers from up and down the Pacific coast.
There was singing every day in a variety of locales: we sang in a bar (the owners asked us to), in a restaurant, on a public radio show, at a brewfest on the celebration of Alaska Day, at a singing school led by Beverly Coates, in front of a waterfall while hiking. Here’s a photo of us getting ready to sing in front of the waterfall:
The convention itself was delightful. The food at dinner-on-the-grounds was fantastic — moussaka made with moose, herring roe salad, salmon jerky, beach asparagus salad, moose lasagna, local shrimp. The local singers were unbelievably friendly and welcoming. Carol and I particularly enjoyed the local Sitka singing on Sunday afternoon after the convention; I was particularly impressed by the several children who were already pretty good singers.