Bulletin Board
Sweet & Savory Contest was a Delight!
by Jenny Chissus
Event Flier
In spite of the blustery and rainy weather, the evening was a huge success! Thanks to Jeremiah and Angela at the Boardwalk Hotel who in addition to hosting this fun event, entertained us with great music from Keeley, Nelson and Kelsey all evening!
We had delicious entries in the competition, this year in both Sweet and Savory categories as well as a People’s Choice category!
Savory …
First, let’s talk about the SAVORY entries! It was so interesting as this category truly opened the door to some exciting and unexpected entries! We love to challenge our Seldovia chefs!
In the Savory category, we had fried chicken wings in a crystalized ginger salmonberry sauce, steak and sausage bites with BBQ salmonberry dipping sauces, caramelized onion and salmonberry cream cheese spread, salmonberry wine and even a salmonberry relish!
Thanks to Marcia, Liane, Ginny, Chris, Karen and MaryJo, we had some amazing entries in the new category this year!
Sweet…
In the SWEET category, we had a wide variety of treats as well! From fresh salmonberry pie, salmonberry cream cheesecake, salmonberry zinger cake, salmonberry jello cheesecake, salmonberry glazed cheesecake, salmonberry kookaberry cake, salmonberry mascarpone shortcake, salmonberry cupcake bites to another salmonberry ice cream!
People’s Choice…
We had another fun category this year, based on last year’s success of sharing the remaining entries with the crowd! So after each sampling was taken by the judges, then the remainder went to our tasting table – where the spectators at the event could sample the treats! Everyone at the event had a ticket and were given the opportunity to pick ONE favorite! It was interesting as 71% of the votes were cast for entries in the SWEET category! And, in the end all three PEOPLES CHOICE winners were in the Sweet category!
And our 3 Judges…
We want to acknowledge and thank our three judges this year! All three were winners in last year’s competition! Angela Campbell who owns, operates and cooks at the Boardwalk Hotel Pub and Grill, Melissa Pederson who owns, operates and cooks at the Harbor Inn Coffee & Gifts and Peggy Cloninger who has retired from almost 30 years running a successful fishing charter and B&B here in Seldovia!
All three of these ladies are amazing cooks who have owned and cooked in restaurants and B&Bs, so they understand the importance of tasty dishes and presentation!
Peggy actually wasn’t able to participate last year as she was headed out of town, so she gave her recipe to Jen Swick, who brought home 1st place last year making & submitting Peggy’s delicious Salmonberry Ice Cream! Crazy – that this year’s winner was also an ice cream!
Thank You … Thank You … Thank You
Awesome Glass Etching by Ecola Collier
Thank you to all the participants who submitted their delicious treats! Obviously, there would be no competition without you!
In addition to thanking again the Boardwalk Hotel Pub and Grill and the entire staff who ran and ran all night to keep food and drinks coming, during the music and the competition, I also want to thank Bovey Trophies for a fantastic job on the ribbon awards! They always do a great job, quickly and at a great price!
Thank you to Alaska Air Taxi who made sure that the awards made it down to Seldovia, and Jeremiah Campbell who packed them in his suitcase!
I also want to acknowledge Ecola Collier who did a fantastic job with the etching on the award jars, creating the artwork and etching the glass so beautifully!
Thanks to Seldovia Property, who sponsored awards, commissioned artwork and planned and organized the event.
Savory Winners!
Liane – Savory 1st Place Steak & Sausage Bites with Salmonberry BBQ Dipping Sauces
Marcia – Savory 2nd Place Marcia’s Salmonberry Juice (wine)
MaryJo – Savory 3rd Place Salmonberry Relish
Sweet Winners!
Jinnifer – Sweet 1st Place Salmonberry Lemon curd Ice cream
Liane – Sweet 2nd Place Salmonberry Mascarpone Shortcake
Rebecca – Sweet 3rd Place Salmonberry flavored Cupcake Bites
People’s Choice Winners!
Elaine – 1st Place – People’s Choice Salmonberry Kookaberry Cake
Erin – 2nd Place – People’s Choice Fresh Salmonberry Pie
Jinnifer – 3rd Place – People’s Choice Salmonberry Lemon curd Ice cream
2018 Salmonberry Contest, Recap of 2017 event & Interview with our 2017 Guest Celebrity Judge Kirsten Dixon!
by Jenny Chissus
There are quite a few things that come to mind when you think of summer in Seldovia, and one of the very special ones, is the fact that we are a haven for Salmonberries! We’re in our 2nd year of hosting the Salmonberry Dessert Contest, and we agreed that we needed to divide up the categories a bit as we had such a variety of treats last year! We will have two categories in our renamed “Salmonberry Delights Contest”! Sweet OR Savory – thanks to Kirsten Dixon for that description of last year’s event! This allows folks to submit both the “Sweet” Salmonberry Desserts as well as “Savory” Salmonberry Dressings, sauces & other. We’re excited to see what this year will bring!
The audience loved when the judges began sharing of all the treats once they had judged their portion. This year we will have a People’s Choice winner as the crowd truly enjoyed getting in on the tasty fare! So, to all entrants, please have enough for the 3 judges as well as some to share tastes with the diners at the Boardwalk as they will each have one vote! This worked out beautifully last year, as the three judges just take a taste of a pie or cake so there is plenty to share… but when it is just a candy, scoop of ice cream or a muffin, there is not much to go around! So keep that in mind!
Bring your entry before 6pm and sit down for dinner and a front row seat to the contest judging that begins at 7:30pm!
I know many folks who don’t live in Seldovia can’t wait for the season and make trips to our side of the bay for these elusive fruits! Last year, as we looked back at our photos from 2016, we figured we would be safe to have our contest in late July! Not so! Our lack of sun and warmth last summer led to a mediocre and VERY late summer crop of salmonberries, so we moved the event to the end of August! Thankfully, it all worked out to the good, as Kirsten and Mandy Dixon were able to make the event in August, and never would have been able to swing it in July! This year, the berries are ripening and plentiful, if you can beat the crows!
Last year, I wasn’t sure how it was going to go – if folks would find any berries – if anyone had great dessert recipes to create something for a contest… but when 7:30pm drew near, we had 25 entries! We had to bring out two more tables to manage the dessert feast!
We had salmonberry coffee cake, salmonberry swirl cake, lemon salmonberry marscarpone cake, salmonberry cheesecake, brie cheese with salmonberry chutney, salmonberry cake with fireweed honey sauce, chocolate covered rice crispy salmonberry truffles, salmonberry shortcake, salmonberry crumble bars, salmonberry rhubarb pudding cake, salmonberry smoothie, salmonberry cheesecake bites, salmonberry sweet buns, salmonberry custard pie with shortbread crust, brie with salmonberry lemon cream cheese and salmonberry jelly sauce, angel food cake with orange butter salmonberry sauce, love of salmonberry pastry with cream rose salmonberry essence, etc! It was incredible!
Thanks so much to Jeremiah and Angela and the Boardwalk Hotel staff who worked hard to accommodate all the entrants, people and fun! They did a phenomenal job! We look forward to having the contest there again this year! Thank you for hosting!
Enjoy the Slide show from last year’s event below – where you can see the winning entries and amazing chefs and bakers of Seldovia! Get inspired!
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Interview with Celebrity Chef Kirsten –
It was such a privilege to meet and host Kirsten and her daughter Mandy in Seldovia. Thanks so much to Valerie Granath from the Bridgekeeper’s Inn who offered her B&B for the two of them to enjoy a night in Seldovia after the contest!
I had a chance to visit with Kirsten and wanted to share some of her thoughts after the event was through!
Jenny – When you were invited to be a judge, what made you say “Yes”?
Kirsten – I enjoy any opportunity to visit Seldovia. We’re such close neighbors! At Tutka Bay Lodge we just feel that we are part of the Seldovia community and of course, I’m a huge fan of salmonberries and I’m a huge fan of our wild edibles bringing people closer together.
Jenny – You’ve been to Seldovia before, how was this visit?
Kirsten – Every time we visit Seldovia, it’s always a little bit more vibrant and active than the time we were there before. People are super kind and friendly and very warm and inviting to us.
Jenny – What was the highlight of your stay?
Kirsten – No, it certainly wasn’t what we expected. The talent and variety of the entries along with so many people entries, over 25! It was pretty amazing! The food at the restaurant was incredible, the company was wonderful, the music was really beautiful, and overall the evening with such great fun. The bed and breakfast was sweet with such a lovely morning breakfast.
Join us for the 2018 event, Saturday, August 11, 2018 at the Boardwalk Hotel!
All entries need to be registered at the hotel between 5:00 and 6:00pm.
Judging will begin at 7:30pm!
The first of 4 Races this summer in Seldovia!
You must 
Adult Male
Come run in Seldovia!
3rd and final race in Seldovia this summer.
by Jenny Chissus
What a summer we have had! Great days of sun and beach time – and our Seldovia races have been very well attended!
Like the Jakolof Bay 10 Miler and Salmon Shuffle – we are excited to welcome kids to the race – and this year, children’s registration will be free! This is great finale to our summer fun and we hope your whole families will come to participate. Any proceeds from this race will go to the Craft Invitational Chainsaw Carving Competition!
Early registration will be on Friday evening at the Competition site (by the Pavilion) from 7-9pm and final registration will be at 9:00am on race day – with the race to start at 10:00am! Awards will be given after the race – along with some sweet treats to replenish!
Looking forward to seeing you there! 🙂
Watch The Chips Fly – Chainsaw Competition 2017!
by Jenny Chissus
Yes, this is ABSOLUTELY my most favorite event in Seldovia each year!
For a small community, Seldovia has an amazing number of great events that happen throughout the year. Activities are sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, Arts Council, Seldovia Village Tribe, Susan B. English school and of course the businesses w
ho bring in live entertainment and host events! We are so fortunate to have such an active group of organizations and community members who host such a wide variety of events, activities and celebrations. These are well attended by our locals as well as visitors who enjoy participating in our small, beautiful and intimate setting.
The Craft Invitational Chainsaw Carving Competition is a chance for artists to gather in Seldovia over a 4 day period, and create masterpiece carvings out of our large Stika Spruce logs! Many of these artists are accustomed to working with smaller materials, so being able to carve a 26 -45 inch diameter log is a treat! Amazing creations are brought to life!
Since 2006, the Seldovia Chamber of Commerce has hosted this competition and been honored to place these stunning carvings throughout our community so our locals and visitors are able to enjoy them all year long! The community has raised funds through sponsorships to award $3,000 for our first place winner, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for our 3rd place recipient each year.
Our outdoor museum of over 45 carvings is the best in Alaska! The joy of seeing the rough logs turned into finished art is palpable in the eyes of the onlookers. All weekend long, folks stop in to monitor the progress, cheer the carvers on with encouraging words, enjoy conversations around the campfire while snacking on smores and roasting hotdogs. It is an outdoor community event that lasts for 4 days and costs nothing to participate. A family friendly activity, witnessing the creation of Alaskan artwork in progress!
Carvers and their assistants are treated like the superstars they are, as we host their trip over from Homer, their lodging while in town, as well as all their meals for the entire stay. We invite families to join them on the trip, so it often is a vacation to remember for their whole family!
Thank you to the many volunteers, sponsors, businesses and individuals who make this event a huge success!
There is a lot going on this weekend as the Blueberry Festival returns to Seldovia, the 5K and 10K run on Saturday and the Guitar Master’s concert on Sunday! So come join us this Labor Day Weekend to Watch the Chips Fly!
Seldovia Time
