T-minus eight days until the Iceworm Festival kicks off Saturday, Jan. 29, with the theme Ahoy, Iceworm!
This year, Treasure Chest tickets will be done through an online platform, and anyone in the state of Alaska can purchase them from wherever they are. The first prize is two roundtrip Alaska Airlines Tickets anywhere they fly with no black-out dates! The second prize is an amazing kick-sled and a beautiful handmade nautical star quilt by Ria Beedle. Tickets will be available around town using a QR code or through Iceworm committee members.
The schedule is live online at icewormfestival.com/schedule, and will be in the special Iceworm Gazette pull-out section next Friday’s edition of The Cordova Times! Events are being added, so keep checking back, and don’t forget to register your event today!
Head on over to our website, icewormfestival.com, to sign up for the parade, be a street food vendor during the parade, grab a booth at the Iceworm Bazaar, or nominate a Citizen of the Year (deadline Jan. 24). There are plenty more events to sign up for too on the schedule.
The Iceworm Committee is working very hard to coordinate our own events, work with groups and businesses to schedule events, and come up with backup plans as Cordova sees a rise in COVID-19 cases.
The Iceworm Variety Show is canceled for several reasons. Specifically, there are two weekends of action-packed high school sports! Go Wolverines!!! We plan to bring back the variety show next year in a fun new way, kicking off the festival at its start and showcasing even more youth acts than before.
The Paper Airplane Contest was also canceled this year due. We are excited to work with Parks and Rec next year, as they ramp up staff and their space shifts back to normal.
We are actively working to bring you the Survival Suit Races, but due to dock issues and volunteers being busy, we are still working on it.
We hope to honor Miss Iceworm Candidates and the Citizen of the Year at the Cordova Center Friday, Feb. 4, and will livestream or record it for those who can’t attend in-person. The videos on YouTube were such a hit last year introducing candidates for both awards, that we plan to do that again.
We will be hosting an Iceworm Treasure Hunt around town, with maps passed out at Mt. Eccles Elementary School the week of Iceworm Festival. The kids will be able to hunt whenever they want throughout the week. We look forward to reviving Baby Iceworms annual visit to the Elementary School and a high school basketball game to cheer on our youth.
Things are ever evolving, so please bear with us as we volunteers try to put on a great festival amid many challenges. You can always message us on Facebook or email us at icewormfestival@gmail.com with questions, ideas and more.
Thank you and Happy Iceworm!
Sincerely,
- Ria Beedle
- Kelsey Hayden
- Jessica Arasmith
- Christa Hoover
- Anya Honkola
- Shannon Jones
- Emma Roemhildt
- Stephanie Belgarde
