we are all called out to the surrounding villages of Western Alaska for different reasons. For Davis and Lauren, their first trip took them to Gambell together, Davis covering a news story and Lauren gathering interviews for her next episode of Story49. Tyler has been visiting Kotzebue regularly, providing an in-depth coverage of the area. For me, I recently received my first opportunity to travel outside of Nome when I visited Wales for the Kingikmiut Dance Festival that took place September 2-5, 2016.
While in Wales, I recorded audio on handheld recorder (affectionately referred to as a “Marantz,” the brand of audio equipment) from the various performers all across the region in order to update KNOM’s native music offerings. During my brief visit, I also got a chance to walk along the extensive beach hugging the village, discovering local sights such as the “Razorback” (a formation of rocks overlooking the town that looks very much like the spinal ridges of something of past lore), and because it was a clear day, I was able to spy the Diomede Islands off in the distance. Look for photos of these locations in an upcoming edition of #FocusWesternAK!
Now that all of us volunteers have had the chance to travel beyond Nome, I thought it was fitting to discuss our initial experiences. In this week’s audioblog, we discuss the kind of stories and pursuits that bring us to the surrounding villages, how we prepare and pack for travel, and, most important of all, we discuss the generosity of Western Alaskans as they invite us into their communities.
