Summer Solstice came early this year and happened on June 20th. Regardless of the date, yesterday was a beautiful, sunny day here in Interior Alaska, albeit a little bit smoky from a nearby wildfire burning close to North Pole and Fairbanks.
This weekend is our big Summer Solstice celebration with the Midnight Sun Festival happening in downtown Fairbanks from 12pm to 12am and the Midnight Sun Run, also taking place in Fairbanks, starting at 10pm (yes, you read that right)!
The annual Midnight Sun Run is a10K fun run starting at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and ending at Pioneer Park. Many folks don fun costumes and celebratory attire, and locals line their neighborhood streets to cheer on the runners as they walk, run, dash by, with things typically wrapping up around midnight, when it's still light outdoors!
Summer Solstice is such a great time to be in Fairbanks and there's also a Midnight Sun baseball game happening today, June 21st, put on by the Alaska Goldpanners Baseball Team starting at 10pm - an annual Alaskan tradition for over 100 years!
HAVE WE MET?
In case we haven't met, pictured above is yours truly, Pamela Sue, and I am the owner and Alaskan artist behind Pamela Sue Art & Designs. I chose this photo because it was taken close to Summer Solstice at our home in North Pole and we grow a lovely garden every year with carrots being one of our main crops! We also grown tomatoes, cabbage, zucchini, kale, cucumbers, lettuce and herbs.
I love Alaskan carrots so much - they are sweet and juicy and I'm holding the watercolor carrot prints and cards I painted. More recently, I added stylish Carrot Tote Shopping Bags with my watercolor artwork, for trips to the farmer's market and light shopping, just in time for summer!
Read on for more information about Santa Letters I designed - available at fine gift shops in Alaska and seasonally on our website, and solstice musings.
CUSTOM SANTA LETTERS FROM NORTH POLE, ALASKA!
Custom Santa Letters from North Pole are available for purchase at the Princess Lodges in Fairbanks, Denali National Park (visit the Christmas Cabin at the Denali Princess Wilderness Lodge) and Trapper Creek. Letters can also be purchased at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks.
The staff at the Princess Lodges and Westmark Hotel gift shops will help you prepare your Santa Letters for loved ones and they'll mail them direct from the North Pole, Alaska to your loved ones in December.
HISTORY OF OUR SANTA LETTERS
Before starting Pamela Sue Art & Designs, I founded and operated my other business, Santa's Letters and Gifts (in North Pole, Alaska), for over 20 years. It was a fun and creative business, and I designed the attractive stationery and gift packages we offered which were sent to thousands of kids and adults worldwide, many were repeat customers for over 10 years!
In 2023, I closed Santa's Letters and Gifts, but I am excited to continue offering the custom Santa Letters I designed in my new business, Pamela Sue Art & Designs (available seasonally each fall) and at Princess Lodges in Alaska each summer and the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks, year round.
THANK YOU
Thank you for reading my blog. I typically write quarterly, but decided to add an extra post to celebrate Summer Solstice, our longest day of the year in Alaska!
The 24 hours of daylight we receive is inspirational and always enlivening! Sometimes it takes awhile to get to sleep at night :) during the late spring and summer months, but summers are short and time goes by quickly, and it's my favorite time of year.
Until next time...hope you are able to get outdoor and enjoy the beauty too, wherever you call home!