Anchorage Daily News

A lot of Alaska's best known paintings, sculptures, festivals and performance events might charitably be described as pale imitations of what you can run into in a lot of other places.

But some of our art and art events are unique to Alaska. As long as you're here, you really ought to try to get to them, at least once.

We selected these six because they are high-class creative happenings, places or things that provide an aesthetic experience you will never encounter elsewhere.

But it's hardly the whole list. Add your ideas for Alaska art that shouldn't be missed at adn.com/artsnob.

1. SITKA SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL

WHERE: Sitka

WHAT: A month of classical chamber music concerts arranged by violinist Paul Rosenthal, who is joined by world class musicians for performances of Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, etc. etc. Yes, you can hear this exquisite music expertly performed around the world. But the Southeast Alaska setting is drop-dead gorgeous and the casual, chummy attitude is seldom found in tails-and-tux venues. Some programs take place in a hall with big windows opening onto the view; some are more ad hoc and laid back. Rehearsals are open to anyone who wants to stroll in. Crab, cruising, chocolate and schmoozing are part of the package.

WHEN: June 6-27, 2008

INFO: www.sitkamusicfestival.org

2. CAMA-I

WHERE: Bethel

WHAT: An annual three-day blowout of Native Alaskan dance and music in the heart of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Dozens of regional villages send drummers and dancers to perform in a high school gym packed full of fans. A local craft bazaar goes on at the same time. The occasional jazz band, international troupe, hip-hoppers or military-style drill team breaks up the schedule. Toddlers and octogenarians alike perform.

"Cama-i" (also given as "Camai" and "Cama'i") is Yup'ik for "Hello" or "How ya doin'?" Say it like, "Chuh-MY-ee."

This is not the stuff tourists tend to see, but the genuine article, with an energy and edge to impress and entertain local connoisseurs -- those who appreciate the art form best. While everyone is welcome, you just about have to call someone in Bethel to know exactly when it will happen. The usual date is at the end of March or first of April. (Among other concerns, the gym has to be scheduled around regional basketball playoffs.)

WHEN: Best information at the moment, March 28-30, 2008

INFO: (maybe) www.bethelalaska.com

3. ICE ALASKA

WHERE: Fairbanks

WHAT: In terms of the volume of art created (4 million pounds), the size of it (some pieces three stories high or taller) and the number of people who come to see it (45,000 from Alaska and around the world), the World Ice Art Championships are hands-down the biggest art happening in the state.

A hundred or more international carvers head for Fairbanks each winter to turn giant blocks of crystal-clear "Arctic Diamond" ice into glowing monuments of history, fantasy and whimsy. The low sun turns the ice into fire during the day. At night, lights transform it into a riot of Technicolor.

It's all terribly temporary. But for one magical month, young and old can walk through a frozen outdoor sculpture garden wonderland, and even play on some of the more recreational pieces.

WHEN: Feb. 26-March 23, 2008

INFO: 907-451-8250, www.icealaska.com

4. LAST FRONTIER THEATRE CONFERENCE

WHERE: Valdez

WHAT: Started by Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward Albee as a forum for discussing contemporary stagecraft, the conference coordinated by little Prince William Sound Community College has morphed over the years into a venue where aspiring playwrights and professional thespians from around the country come to talk shop and show their work. For the visitor, it's sleepless days and sleepless nights as one new work after another is given a reading, or even staged, and critiqued by experts and laymen. With up to three readings at a time going on, the conference is a veritable cyclone of constant intellectual churning, fresh ideas, wit and word craft. You can't immerse yourself in this kind of frantic creativity without feeling exuberant about life and humanity when you go back home.

WHEN: June 14-21, 2008

INFO: www.pwscc.edu/conference/

5. OKVIK MADONNA

WHERE: College

WHAT: This 2,000 year old, 9-inch ivory figurine from St. Lawrence Island is cited as the most evocative piece of art ever made in Alaska. There might be contenders, but the Madonna -- so called because she appears to hold another figure at her torso -- is one of the easier ones to view. It's on permanent display at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, acknowledged as the crown jewel of the museum, which is located on the campus of University of Alaska Fairbanks.

Want to avoid the crowds? The museum can be rented for special events -- such as you and a few close friends coming in to gaze on her elegant features in relative quiet. As long as you're there, step over to "The Place Where You Go To Listen," a chamber created by composer John Luther Adams where ongoing natural phenomena like daylight, the Northern Lights and seismic activity are transformed into sound in real time. It can be difficult to appreciate the subtleties of such a place -- or the intimacy of the Okvik Madonna -- amid a clattering crowd.

WHEN: Open daily except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day

INFO: www.uaf.edu/museum/

6. TOTEM HERITAGE CENTER

WHERE: Ketchikan

WHAT: The Vatican of totem poles. The center opened in 1976 as a repository for ancient poles that were in the process of decaying in their original outdoor locations. That's what they're supposed to do, but some of the rescued poles were of such noble quality that no one could stand to see them crumble into dust.

In addition to displays of some of Alaska's finest surviving old poles, the center also provides workshops and classes where contemporary carvers can do new work and pass their craft on to a new generation.

Want to see more? Ketchikan is full of famous totems, with more on view in nearby Saxman to the south and Totem Bight State Historical Park to the north.

WHEN: Weekdays Oct.-April, daily May-Sept.

INFO: 907-225-5900, www.city.ketchikan.ak.us

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