I must be getting older. It is mid-June, and I am exhausted. May and June have always been the big social season in Sitka with the Music Festival, Art Shares from the Fine Arts Camp, wildlife cruises and all sorts of other events. I don’t ever remember being this exhausted when I was younger. I was doing all these things as well as closing out one fiscal year and preparing a budget for another at Raven Radio. Plus, I believe I was playing in a softball league. While the long hours of daylight where exhilarating then, they leave me exhausted now. Still, I would not trade these late spring, early summer months in Sitka. Even with the mist and rain, it is generally the best weather we see all year and even with all the tourists in town Sitka has the feel of a close-knit community.
Sunday evening it was the Sitka Music Festival cruise. We cruised out into the rain and mist on an Allen Marine boat, tucked into Silver Bay, had dinner, and listened to a concert. The dinner was prepared by Chef Edith, and was black cod, which I cannot eat because of an allergy but everyone told me it was wonderful. The veggies were tasty, and I loved the salted chocolate chip cookies.
The music was superb. Members of the New World Symphony (Christina Choi, violin, Minglun Liu, Violin, Camila Berg, viola and David Olson, Cello) formed into a string quartet, played pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Astor Piazzolla and John Philip Sousa. There WERE bald eagles, and we ARE getting close to the 4th.
They were playing on wooden instruments, not the carbon fiber instruments that the festival bought for traveling and outdoor concerts. A few years ago, several of the musicians had Cremona instruments, including a few made by Antonio Stradivari. (Including the Fleming Stradivarius Violin, as in the Ian Fleming family). We calculated the value of the instruments was greater than the value of the excursion boat and speculated about the headlines if the boat foundered. Zuill said that if we had the carbon instruments, they would float, and we could fish them out later. I suppose a Stradivarius would also float but it probably would not be helped by the cold salt water of Nakwasina Passage (Where we were cruising that year.)
On the cruise back to Crescent Harbor I stood out of the deck for a while, the mist on my face and getting on the lens of my camera, looking at the clouds play in and out of the inlets.
Thank you so much for bringing the joys of Sitka to us
Doesn’t Sitka weather know this is almost summer – June 16th. Always have warmth nearby! The music played on wooden instruments must have been almost a religious experience! The look on the musicians faces told me that! So much to enjoy in Sitka!