Smokey the Bear greets children at the Read with a Ranger event on July 28 at the Irene Ingle Public Library as part of the annual BearFest. U.S. Forest Service staff member Claire Froehlich, right) helps Smokey greet the children.
BearFest attendees brought their culinary and athletic skills to bear at the celebration's games, tournaments and contests. The festival, which ran from July 26 to July 30, featured a golf tournament, marathon, raffle, berry pie contest and smoked salmon contest.
When he isn't busy with his job as borough manager, Jeff Good can be found dominating the Muskeg Meadows golf course, and the BearFest tournament was no exception. He won the straightest-drive competition and the team he was part of - along with Clint Kolarich, Christine Tripp and Tory Houser - took first place.
The Buness family swept the berry pie and smoked salmon competitions, with a first place marionberry raspberry custard pie by Shawna Buness and first place salmon strips by Shawna and Jordan Buness.
Shawna has entered the pie contest almost every year since its inception, but this year is her first time winning. "We have not fared well in the pie contest before this year," she said. "In previous years, I've tried to get too fancy or too different. This year, I just tried to keep it simple and that seemed to be the key."
She dreamed up her pie recipe based on what she had in her kitchen at the time. The marionberries came from her Sweet Tides food service supplier - "(marionberries) aren't common around here," she said, and felt that the fruit's novelty might be a hit.
As for the Buness's salmon, "the brine is the key," she said. Smoky flavor in smoked salmon is a given, so "the brine is your time to shine" by adding any unique flavors or special ingredients that might be out of the common way. The brining process also draws out moisture and ensures an even, flaky texture for the finished product.
That said, every palette is different and there's no way to guarantee that your recipe will be universally appealing. "When you're making smoked salmon, make sure that you're doing it the way you like it, not trying to please everyone else," Shawna said.
In the pie contest, Sam Williams' blueberry pecan pie came in second and Sage and Dana Smiley's fireweed custard pie took third.
In the smoked salmon contest, Austen O'Brien's filet was the second place finisher and Iver Nore's king strips were third.
After four days of feasting, some BearFest attendees opted to round out the celebration's final day with a run. Only one runner, Gina Ostby of Ketchikan, signed up to complete the full 26.2 miles, but she didn't need other competitors to push her. Finishing in 3:59:52, she was only about 20 minutes away from a Boston Marathon qualifying time.
Seven runners completed the half marathon. Kevin Kocarek of Wrangell came in first with a time of 1:36:25. Dale McMurren and Bruce Smith, also of Wrangell, finished second and third respectively.
Diane O'Brien closed out the week's events by winning two round-trip Alaska Airlines tickets in the BearFest raffle.
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