Music and food highlights end of summer

Before summer gives way to autumn, several Wrangell business owners decided to have one more hurrah downtown with food and live music.

Set for Sunday afternoon, "Warm August Nights" was thought up by Heidi Milazzo, Clay Culbert, Lucy Robinson, Brooke Leslie and Brenda Schwartz-Yeager. "All of us have been working on it together," said Milazzo. "We just wanted to have a fun family event."

Culbert pointed out the lull in local activities around August, with not much by way of entertainment between Bearfest at the end of July and Halloween festivities. With a chance of some late summer sunshine and use of the downtown pavilion, Milazzo said the opportunity was there to have another gathering.

For entertainment, she invited her nephew, country musician Matt Koerner. It didn't take any convincing, having already visited Wrangell for last year's Independence Day celebration.

"Matt came up last year with his family. He brought a guitar, played a couple of songs, and just loved it," said Culbert.

Koerner was raised in Tustin, California. Pursuing a career in music, in 2014 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee. He has released a five-song eponymous EP, and has put out a single, "Welcome to the Doghouse." Shortly before coming up to Wrangell for the weekend, Koerner toured several spots in the greater Los Angeles area. He is currently touring the country as he works on his first full-length album.

"He's a solid musician. He's a performer, it's what he does for a living," Culbert commented. "I think his sincerity and the way he handles people, in a town like Wrangell he just fits right in. He's already made friends here and likes being here."

As their idea started coming together, the event's organizers spent the week leading up to the gathering spreading the word. Milazzo said one of the more challenging parts was getting an inviting name for the do. After a particularly rainy couple of months, they had decided something warm and evocative of sunshine would be welcome. The Front Street pavilion was booked, a pair of food booths set up for the afternoon, amps and a microphone readied, and posters began appearing on storefronts.

"The local Chamber (of Commerce) was really supportive. It wasn't their event but they helped get the word out," Milazzo added.

As it turned out, the weather matched the name just fine. About 150 people turned out for a couple of hours of music, plus there was additional foot traffic from the Seven Seas Mariner docked that day. Even after the main show drew down, a number of people sat around a fire with Koerner for some time, strumming the guitar.

Culbert thought it was all in all a success, hitting the right notes for the summer. He also thought it had been a good opportunity for some of Front Street's newer shops to liven things up some. Like Tent City Days and Midnight Madness, such annual gatherings help bind the community together.

"This place has a spark," he said of Wrangell. "If we don't have events in Wrangell, and everybody doesn't kick in and do this, we're going to lose that spark."

Just prior to Warm August Nights, a run to benefit the Mariners Memorial project was organized by Southeast Beasts, Wrangell's running club. Planned for Heritage Harbor, the memorial wall and gazebo's design was approved this year by the Port Commission, and fundraising efforts have since been taken up by an independent board.

"We have a five-person board that's been working on picking up where the project left off," explained one of its members, Jenn Miller. She is joined on it by John Martin, Brennon Eagle, John Yeager and Gig Decker. "Right now we're just trying to gain supporters," people to pledge support for the project. "That membership base will help us be able to apply for larger funding so we can get the project started."

Southeast Beasts' chair, Robinson explained the run was meant to raise awareness of that effort. The run itself raised about $260 in donations, but five new memberships and two $500 donations to the memorial project brought in $1,510 in all.

"Every little bit helps," said Robinson. "It's nice, because the fishermen are a big part of our community, and that's what we're all about."

"By the end of this fall we were hoping to have 200 supporters," said Miller. So far the group is about a quarter of the way there. Progress on the project can be tracked on http://www.wrangellmarinersmemorial.com, or one can sign up to be a supporter through the site.