Mike McBride, co-owner of Kachemak Bay Wilderness Lodge along with his wife, Diane, will be in Anchorage for the Great Alaska Aviation Gathering at the FedEx hangar this weekend. He'll be signing copies of his book, "The Last Wilderness: Alaska's Rugged Coast."
In addition to being a pilot, author, lodge operator and ecotourism pioneer, McBride is a board member of the Wilderness Foundation, an international conservation group that holds congresses every four or five years. In 2005, McBride arranged to have the congress in Anchorage and flew assorted delegates all over the lower part of the state in his floatplane. In 2013 the congress was in Salamanca, Spain, where Prince Charles gave the keynote speech and "The Last Wilderness" was debuted.
The book recounts the McBrides' decision to live across the bay from Homer, the people who've crossed their paths, the adventures they've experienced, many reflections on nature and human responsibilities, and a few white-knuckle moments thrown in -- like plunging into cold water to try and rescue passengers in a submerged Piper Cub.
The big air show will run 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, May 3. McBride tells us that he'll be at the Alaska Airmen's Association booth the whole time, or most of it. Stop by and say hi.
Bare-knuckle classics
The University of Alaska Anchorage will host Hawaiian pianist Frederic Chiu in an intriguing program titled "Classical Smackdown." The program featured four "rounds" in which works by Claude Debussy and Sergei Prokofiev are played back to back. The audience will have the chance to select the "winner" of each round, and the bout as a whole, by mobile devices. I'm not sure about the gimmickry of the idea, but it sounds like fun and the program looks stupendous, with major works by each composer on the bill. The concert takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 1, in the UAA Fine Arts Building Recital Hall.
'Moose' comes to UAA
The Carpenter Brothers' horror spoof "Moose: The Movie" will be screened at UAA's Wendy Williamson Auditorium at 6 and 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 14. Details and advance tickets ($10) are available at moosethemovie.com.
Book bonanza
The Friends of the Library Spring Book Sale is always a popular event for local literati, but this year's should be bigger than ever. In anticipation of the upcoming renovation of Loussac Library, the staff has been weeding collections as never before and we're told there will be twice as many items as usual for sale.
Money raised from these events supports Anchorage Public Libraries, and this is likely to be the last until after renovations are complete at the end of 2016. Ten thousand children's books are included, $1 for hardbound, 50 cents for paperbacks. In addition to the books, there are art prints that used to be part of the collection you could check out and hang on your walls for a while.
It will begin with a "Books and Brie" reception for members of Friends of the Library from 6-9 p.m. Friday, May 1. (You can become a member at the door or online at librarychampion.com.) The sale will be open to the public 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and again from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 3, with everything half-price.
Craig library honored
Speaking of repositories of literature: On March 6 we reported that the Craig Public Library on Prince of Wales Island was in the running for one of 10 National Medals for Museum and Library Service and that the outcome would be influenced by comments from those who used the facility. Someone must have had something nice to say, as the Craig facility was announced among the winners on April 21, along with museums and libraries spread from New Orleans, Louisiana, to Lynchburg, Virginia.
The award from the Institute of Museum and Library Services will be presented at an event in Washington, D.C., on May 18. Amy Marshall, the library's director, will travel to receive the award along with a member of the community -- yet to be identified -- who will speak about how the facility has affected them.
UAA Bookstore events
Three writers will talk about their work at upcoming public events slated for the UAA Campus Bookstore. Ben Huff will talk about creating and photographing his book about the Dalton Highway, "The Last Road North" at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, May 7. Stuart Archer Cohen will present his fiction thriller, "This is How it Really Sounds," at 4 p.m. Friday, May 8. Glenn Kurtz will discuss his nonfiction memoir, "Three Minutes in Poland, Discovering a Lost World in a 1938 Family Film," at 4 p.m. Sunday, May 10. The events are free and open to the public.
Alaska residencies announced
The Rasmuson Foundation will bring four artists from out of state to Alaska for eight-week residencies with Alaska art groups. Painter Amy Casey of Cleveland, Ohio, will be at the Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer. Writer/performance artist Kimi Eisele of Tucson, Arizona, will attend the Island Institute in Sitka. Interdisciplinary artist Samantha Hill of Chicago will develop an installation from oral histories at the Anchorage Museum. Cannupa Hanska Luger of Santa Fe, New Mexico, who works mainly in ceramics, will be in residence at the Native Art Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Gyre swirls on
A traveling version of "Gyre," the 2014 Anchorage Museum exhibit focusing on ocean pollutants -- particularly plastics -- will be on display at the David J. Sencer CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Museum in Atlanta, Georgia, through June 19. After that it will go to the USC Fisher Museum of Art in Los Angeles, where it will be on display Sept. 2-Nov. 21.