Model Kenzi Osgood wears a creation by Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer, an Inupiaq designer from Kotzebue, at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
The Anchorage Museum atrium transformed into a catwalk for the 2024 Far North Fashion show Thursday night.
The show featured eight Alaska Native designers who created nearly 40 looks for the event. Walking to a playlist of music drawn from around the circumpolar north, some models wore traditional garments while others showed off looks that featured fur, skins and feathers on gowns and streetwear. Occasionally, a model broke into a traditional Alaska Native dance move as the crowd of about 650 people cheered their approval.
This is the second year fashion show coordinator Trina Landlord has organized the event. She said when she was 13, she and her best friend would dream about Alaska Native fashion on runways.
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“We didn’t ever see anyone who looked like us who were designers or models,” Landlord said. “Fast forward to now, and this is my fifth fashion show I’ve done featuring Alaska Native designers. Some have shown at Toronto fashion week.”
The theme of this year’s fashion show — the “Black and White Raven Collection” — appeared throughout the night, from models’ makeup and hair to the feathered capelets and adornments of many looks.
The raven theme was inspired by the magical, transformative creatures that appear in the stories and songs of many Alaska Native cultures, Landlord said. But like the fashion show itself, it’s also a take on modern-day life — and 2024′s buzziest local celebrity.
“With the new paparazzi following the white raven around — keeping that in mind, it’s so new and unusual and unique,” Landlord said.
The show was presented by Arctic Encounter, a symposium of events centered on Arctic policy, business and culture that took place Wednesday through Friday in downtown Anchorage.
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Model Deenaalee Hodgdon wears Inupiaq designer Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer featuring accessories by Tlingit artist Jennifer Younger at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Amiah Xootsk Johnson wears a seal skin vest by Jeremiah James and a white raven mask by Jerry Laktonen during the Far North Fashion Show on April 11, 2024, at the Anchorage Museum. (Alena Naiden / ADN)
Inupiaq model Robin Thompson wears Unangax designer Mary Kelsay at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Unangax model Erin Messmer wears a design by Unangax designer Mary Kelsay at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Aaron Tolen models for designer Jeremiah James at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Model Samuel Sivulaq Mecham wears Merna Lomack Wharton’s design during the Far North Fashion Show on April 12, 2024, at the Anchorage Museum. (Alena Naiden / ADN)
Unangax model Haliehana Stepetin wears Inupiaq designer Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Models Deenaalee Hodgdon, Keegan Richards, Ryan Richards and Kenzi Osgood wear designs by Jackie Qatalina Schaeffer, an Inupiaq designer from Kotzebue, at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
Yup’ik model Jenay Mike models for Tlingit designer Reine Pavlik of Yakutat at the Far North Fashion Show at the Anchorage Museum on April 11, 2024. (Kerry Tasker photo)
ANCHORAGE — Southwest Airlines (WN) has launched its first-ever service to Alaska, beginning seasonal flights to Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) from Denver International Airport (DEN) and Harry Reid International Airport (LAS).
The carrier scheduled Anchorage service to begin on May 15, 2026, with once-daily flights through the summer from both Denver and Las Vegas. Southwest’s booking site now markets Anchorage flights, with fares and connecting itineraries visible from multiple U.S. cities.
Southwest adds its 43rd state
Anchorage becomes Southwest’s 122nd airport and brings Alaska into the carrier’s domestic network as its 43rd U.S. state. The airline had announced the move in October 2025, describing Anchorage as one of several new 2026 destinations added as part of a broader network expansion.
The launch follows Southwest’s recent additions of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; Knoxville, Tennessee; Sint Maarten; and Santa Rosa/Sonoma County, California. Anchorage is the most geographically distinct of those additions, extending Southwest’s map into a market where air travel is unusually central to state connectivity.
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Why anchorage matters
For Alaska, Southwest’s arrival adds another large U.S. carrier at ANC and increases competition on two important Lower 48 corridors. Alaska transportation officials framed the service as a boost for passenger choice, tourism, business travel, and broader state connectivity.
The Denver and Las Vegas launch points are also strategic. Denver gives Southwest a strong inland connecting point to much of its domestic network, while Las Vegas adds another high-volume leisure gateway. Together, the routes allow Southwest to test Alaska demand without immediately entering more crowded West Coast-to-Anchorage markets.
Part of a larger southwest reset
The Anchorage launch comes as Southwest continues to reshape both its network and onboard product. The airline has been rolling out assigned and premium seating, free Wi-Fi for Rapid Rewards members, and in-seat power on Boeing 737-8 aircraft as part of its redesigned cabin strategy.
That context matters. Anchorage is not just a novelty dot on the map; it is part of Southwest’s wider attempt to broaden vacation demand, strengthen connecting relevance, and enter markets that historically sat outside its traditional network profile.
Impacts
For travelers, the immediate impact is simple: Anchorage now has new seasonal nonstop options from Denver and Las Vegas, backed by Southwest’s large connecting network. For ANC, the service adds another national carrier during the peak summer travel window.
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For Southwest, Alaska is a symbolic and strategic expansion. The carrier is moving beyond its old domestic playbook, adding more geographically ambitious destinations while modernizing the product around assigned seating, premium options, and loyalty benefits. The real test will be whether Anchorage performs strongly enough to return beyond the initial summer season.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Firefighters are battling a human caused fire on the Kenai Peninsula, the Alaska Division of Forestry and Fire Protection (DOF) said.
The Killey River Fire was discovered Friday evening, DOF said. A pilot and a boat operator reported it.
“It is burning along the edge of the waterway in the burned area of the 2014 Funny River Fire,” DOF said. The fire “is about 2.25-miles up the Killey River from its confluence with the Kenai River.”
As of Saturday morning, the fire was about 8.2 acres.
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“[Precipitation], helicopter bucket drops, and the air tanker slowed the fire and allowed firefighters to cut saw line and build hose lays around the fire,” DOF said Saturday.
In a note from Saturday on the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center Situation Dashboard, it said minimal fire activity was observed after firefighters worked “around snags in the old fire scar. The crew engaged to secure the west side of the fire with anticipation of strong gusts from the east.”
Burn permits have been suspended in the Kenai-Kodiak area, as well as the Fairbanks and Delta prevention areas, DOF said.
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Royal Caribbean International informed guests of a change to the debarkation port for the May 15, 2026, cruise onboard the Ovation of the Seas. According to a statement, the seven-night itinerary to Alaska will now end at the port of Whittier instead of Seward. “We would like to share an…
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/BHJYOLRFKVDMDG3CVMSVPMYAUM.JPG?ssl=1 "At the Far North Fashion Show, Alaska Native designs take flight")
