6th Annual Alaska Day Pub Crawl

Growing up in Sitka, Alaska Day was always a huge event. Every October 18th the town would take a half day off from work and school and meet up downtown to celebrate the anniversary of Statehood with a parade, food and game booths, costumes.... It never occurred to me that other people didn't celebrate their States in similar ways until I moved to Idaho for college. I actually remember wondering when Idaho Day was. : ) To further my confusion, when I moved back to Alaska, it didn't take long for me to discover that Sitka is apparently the only town that goes all out for the holiday. Living in Juneau, the most I've witnessed is State employees having a paid day off and the bars staying open a couple extra hours.

Back in 2006,  October 18th rolled around and I found myself with 3 non-Alaskan friends, all of us having just finished up with another season at Allen Marine. After telling them about how big Alaska Day was while living in Sitka, we decided to take the holiday into our own hands and head to the bar to have a celebratory drink. And that was the start of the 1st Annual Alaska Day Pub Crawl! We proceeded to have one beer at each of our favorite hang-outs, enjoying each others company and sharing memories from the summer. We also decided to solidify the significance of the day by making Alaska Day resolutions, which had to be completed by New Years Eve. Obviously none of us wanted to be the one to fail at our resolution, so we all chose something fairly simple to accomplish, and surprisingly enough, we all managed to follow through.

In just a few days, it'll be time to celebrate the 6th Annual Alaska Day Pub Crawl. The players have changed slightly since the beginning but each year seems to draw in more and more friends who want to join in the festivities. We've gone as far as to create hats and t-shirts and actual signed placards to make our resolutions more official. The last couple years we've met up at a restaurant for lunch and then proceeded to bar hop around town, enjoying a beer or cocktail at each location and making it safely into our beds by 9pm. I'm not quite sure what this Alaska Day will bring considering that most of my typical partners-in-crime are out of town. But you better believe I have already started trying to formulate my newest resolution. I have successfully completed each and every resolution I've made thus far, each year trying to push myself a little more than the last. This year will be no exception! Soooo... what will your Alaska Day resolution be?! 

Random Fact About Me #1118:  My favorite holiday is Halloween.