CELEBRATION 2024 TO KICK OFF NEXT WEEK

Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will kick off its biennial Celebration next week, marking 42 years since the inception of the popular dance-and-culture festival.

Celebration is a major four-day event organized by Sealaska Heritage every two years. First held in 1982, it has become the one of the largest events in the state, drawing thousands of people and millions of dollars to the capital city.

It’s a time when Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people come together to celebrate their cultural survival and to share their cultures with the public, said SHI President Ḵaaháni Rosita Worl, Ph.D.

“Our cultures are vibrant. We as a people are strong. This is a time to celebrate each other and revel in the fact that our cultures have survived and thrived,” said Worl, noting that the general public is welcome to attend.

Nearly 1,600 dancers from 36 dance groups will participate this year. Along with dance performances, Celebration features associated events, including a Juried Art Show and Competition, a Juried Youth Art Exhibit, a Native Art Market, Native food contests, a Toddler Regalia Review, a parade through downtown Juneau and the Everyday Indigenous Fashion Show sponsored by Goldbelt Heritage Foundation, Goldbelt, Inc. and SHI. The event will also include some new events, including a Juried Film Festival, the premiere of Tlingit MacBeth, an Elder photo booth, a blanket toss and a cultural orientation that will include a viewing of two Chilkat robes recently acquired by SHI (For more information on new events, see the press release Celebration 2024: What’s new?

Events will be held in numerous venues, including Centennial Hall, Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, SHI’s Walter Soboleff Building, the Sealaska Heritage Arts Campus and plaza, Gold Town Theater and the State Library, Archives and Museum, known as SLAM.

The SHI Board of Trustees named Dakhká Khwáan Dancers (People of the Inland) as the lead dance group, which is responsible for leading the Grand Entrance and Grand Exit songs, during which every participating dance group dances across the stage to mark the beginning and end of Celebration. This requires the lead group to drum and sing for up to three hours straight during each procession. 

Dakhká Khwáan Dancers, a Tlingit group based in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada, will lead all dancers for the first time since the group initially performed at Celebration in 2008.

The Celebration 2024 art was designed by Tlingit artist G̱at X̱wéech (Nick Alan Foote), who won with his piece “Sacred Embrace,” which was inspired by the 2024 theme, “Together We Live in Balance.”

“Southeast Alaska Native cultural values define social and spiritual ‘balance’ as essential to maintaining a healthy society and our relationships to past and future generations,” said Worl. “We also recognize that this same concept of ‘balance’ applies to living in our environment and to maintaining balance among the animals and fish populations on which we depend.”

The Juried Art Show exhibit will be on display in the Nathan Jackson Gallery at the Walter Soboleff Building in Juneau through Dec. 6. The awards ceremony is scheduled for 3:30 pm, Wednesday, June 5, and will also feature awards for the Juried Youth Art Exhibit and SHI’s first ever Juried Film Festival. The Grand Entrance is scheduled for 5 pm­­ at Centennial Hall, following a procession from Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall, and the event runs through Saturday, June 8.

SHI will sponsor a live, statewide broadcast of Celebration on KTOO 360TV public television and live webcasts on the institute’s website and YouTube channel. The event will also stream on KTOO 360TV and on KTOO’s Roku and Apple TV apps. Live broadcast of Celebration 2024 is available statewide on KTOO 360TV (where to watch).

News media outlets are welcome to cover the event. Reporters are required to sign in at the information booth in Centennial Hall and wear a media pass.

SHI will begin early ticket sales for Celebration and distribute dancer wristbands starting on Saturday, June 1, at the Sealaska Heritage Store. Four-day passes are $35 for adults and $20 for Elders (ages 65 and up) and youth (ages 7-12). One-day tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for Elders and youth. Children ages 6 and under are admitted free of charge.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private nonprofit founded in 1980 to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska. Its goal is to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding through public services and events. SHI also conducts social scientific and public policy research that promotes Alaska Native arts, cultures, history and education statewide. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars, a Native Artist Committee and a Southeast Regional Language Committee.

CONTACT: Kathy Dye, SHI Communications and Publications Deputy Director, 907.321.4636, kathy.dye@sealaska.com.

Caption: Image featuring Celebration 2024 art, “Sacred Embrace” by Tlingit artist G̱at X̱wéech (Nick Alan Foote). Note: Media outlets are welcome to use this photo for coverage of this story. For a higher resolution image, contact kathy.dye@sealaska.com