Now projecting in an intimate, state-of-the-art facility, the Alaska Experience Theatre is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous with a brief look at the history of the Rondy championship sled dog races and a turtle's-eye view of the world.
The theater is known for its earthquake simulator, said Cynthia Wicher, AET's manager. "It allows audience members to feel how the people in Anchorage felt back then." Its "Earthquake Experience" played for years at its former site at Sixth Avenue and G Street.
The films included in the current package are played in a new theater in the 4th Avenue Marketplace at Fourth Avenue and C Street. The new showplace was outfitted with 3-D technology last summer. A Christie D-Cinema projector plays the movies on a 38-foot curved screen. Only one of the three films, "Turtle Vision," is in 3-D, however.
"Turtle Vision" gives the audience a new look into the world of human-animal interactions with vibrant colors and in-your-face effects. Oil spills, logging and whale hunting make the message of this short film clear: Take care of the world we have.
The other two films in the current lineup star the furry four-legged friends that make Fur Rondy, well, Fur Rondy. "The Race" takes a look at the challenges and rewards of being a musher at Rondy. Drama and suspense fill the air, as well as the Dolby Digital Cinema sound system. The sound is in full 360-degree coverage and provides great support to the clear images of the projector.
In "The Race," George Attla, 10-time winner of the World Championship Sled Dog Races, comments on the future.
"The mushers are making it the great race again," Attla says.
Martin Buser, four-time winner of the Iditarod, takes you into his Happy Trails Kennel in "For the Love of Dogs." The kennel, at Big Lake, is where Buser spends 52 weeks a year caring and training his dogs for the next race. The dogs will take about 2 million steps from start to finish.
The entire package is about an hour long. The three films run in rotation with another 3-D movie, "Fly Me to the Moon."
Wicher, who started working with AET in December, said she is excited for the future.
"We are planning to get students in here and get them enthused about their state and learning," Wicher said.
AET is working with the Anchorage School District to try and formalize an agreement whereby teachers will be able to take classrooms to AET.
The theater will start showing two new movies in May: "Journey to Alaska" and "Northern Lights Experience."
Also in the works is a salmon bake and show package, available from June through August. From Alaskan salmon to a tour of the earthquake display in the theater, visitors can be fed and educated. In addition, King Island and Tlingit dance groups will put on a 30-minute show.
Port View, a banquet room built in the recent renovations, is another new offering for the theater. The 2,060-square-foot room offers a great view of Ship Creek. The banquet room provides an excellent view of the Rondy Carnival, excited children and all.
Felix Rivera is a liberal studies major from Alaska Pacific University and intern at ADN.
By FELIX RIVERA
Special to the Daily News