By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

On Tuesday, December 16th, Girdwood Parks and Recreation hosted the second Girdwood Parks Plan workshop.  The Girdwood Parks Plan project is a year-long project to generate a Parks Master Plan that can provide guidance on improvements to Girdwood’s existing park spaces and the potential creation of new parks in the future.  The project is spearheaded by Kyle Kelly, Girdwood Service Area Manager, and Bri Keifer, landscape architect with Huddle AK, a consulting firm brought on to help the project.

The project began with a park user survey in the fall, followed by a workshop in September which presented the results of the survey and collected Girdwood residents’ thoughts and opinions on existing park locations and infrastructure.  Huddle AK worked with Parks and Rec to interpret the survey results and feedback, and the second workshop allowed them to present their draft plans for Girdwood Park, Lions Club Park, Town Square Park, Moose Meadows, and the new concept Glacier Creek Park.  Huddle AK used this workshop as an opportunity to collect feedback about the draft plans presented.  The workshop was open-house style, with various exhibits set up around the Community Room that focused on each of the different parks.

Girdwood Park would see some improvements but would likely not look dramatically different than it does today.  There were several comments about the inadequacy of the playground, so there are plans or new play equipment for 2-5 year-olds and 5-12 year-olds.  Additionally, there are plans for an elevated plaza with amphitheater-style seating that is facing the playground and skate park; the plaza idea was spurred by comments from parents that it can be difficult to keep an eye on children playing, especially if there are multiple children using different areas of the park.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/draft-plans-for-girdwoods-parks-displayed-at-parks-plan-workshop

By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

Despite temperatures below 0oF, the 2025 Solstice Ski organized by the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club brought a large crowd of Girdwood residents out to the trail kiosk on the 5K trail loop.  This annual celebration of the winter and of the return to the sun brings Girdwood residents out into the night to celebrate together.

 To help battle the darkness of winter’s longest night, the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club installed over 2,500 lights along the 2K trail and the trail kiosk, which is the home of the party for the evening.  At the epicenter of the Solstice gathering at the kiosk, participants found the bonfire plus hot chocolate and soup donated by The Bake Shop to keep everyone warm inside and out.  This was also where the music was playing, and most participants were gathered to talk and spend time together commemorating the 5K trail network and celebrating the return of the sunlight that comes after Winter Solstice.

 It wouldn’t be a Nordic Ski Club event without Nordic skiing, and most participants took some time to ski at least one lap of the lit trails.  Prior to the event, twenty GSNC volunteers spent approximately a week getting the lights ready and positioned on the course.  The hard work paid off, as the colorful and flashing lights augmented the experience.  Some of the lights moved constantly around the top of the trees, illuminating the foliage and creating tricks of the eye with the stars of the clear night.  Meanwhile other lights danced across the trail’s surface itself.  Girdwood resident and event participant Amanda Tuttle described the last segment of trail as like, “skiing on Rainbow Road from Mario Kart” while passing through the multicolor, flashing lights.  

 Deb Essex, the President of the Girdwood Nordic Ski Club, said that the Solstice Ski, “is definitely our biggest event” and is something they always look forward to.  The event is free for participants, but even without a financial draw Essex says, “it is a benefit to the Club by celebrating where we live andcelebrating the only uplands winter trail loop in Glacier Valley.”  

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/girdwood-celebrates-solstice-on-the-ski-trails

By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

As people drive or walk Timberline Drive, they may notice the Cozmic Culver, a new artistic and scientific installation in front of Riley Bennett and Max Vockner’s home at 540 Timberline.  The section of 9-foot culvert installed by the roadside with a hanging bench inside is much more than just a spot for weary walkers making their way up the road.  Once someone sits inside the culvert and sees the mural curving around two-thirds of the inner wall, then the true art and soul of the piece becomesvisible.

 Vockner, a concrete worker, salvaged the section of culvert and brought it home years ago to start this piece.  The piece was a team effort of many Girdwood locals working together, and it serves as a memorial to Michael Bennett, Riley Bennett’s father, who passed away around Winter Solstice in 2023.

 The mural shows a stylized version of the night sky over Girdwood, with some specific scientific details to reference the Winter Solstice.  While sitting on the bench, the “sky” directly overhead is a fantasy version of a night sky. Tommy O’Malley, one of the artists on the project and perhaps better known in Girdwood as Tommy Salami, said that there are not many constellations overhead in the northern skies, which left them “free to have some fun” with that part of the sky.  The swirling artistic vision of the stars was inspired by Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, as well as the misty night sky that O’Malley witnessed on a trip to the Pyrenees in France.

Read the entire story and more pictures at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/the-cozmic-culvert-lights-up-the-darkest-time-of-year

By Chase Berenson

TNews Staffwriter

On Tuesday, December 16th, Alpenglow Coffeehouse hosted a showing of the movie “Ocean with David Attenborough” for a full house of Girdwood residents.  The film is a documentary that showcases the importance of the world’s oceans and documents some of the environmental threats they face in today’s world.  The movie showing was in collaboration with the organizations SalmonState and Oceana, who have hosted several showings and presentations in the past few weeks around Alaska.

Due to the size constraints of Alpenglow’s main room, the showing was limited to 30 people who signed up for free tickets in advance.  The movie was preceded by a brief introduction by Ryan Astalos of SalmonSate, Lauren Hynes of Oceana, and Justin Shoffner of Alpenglow, and then the movie showing began.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/david-attenboroughs-ocean-comes-to-the-shore-of-turnagain-arm

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

In a small town with rainy winters, with only five kilometers of groomed trail and with few, if any, local races, how unlikely is it that Girdwood is home to a rising national Nordic skiing talent?

Despite the odds, Mia Stiassny, 17, is crushing the field in cross-country skiing—in Anchorage, in Alaska, in the United States, and, recently, even in Europe. 

And that her success began in Girdwood—with Mt. Alyeska looming above and the town's share of medal-winning skiers and snowboarders—is merely a situational happenstance, says Stiassny, who wore a black puffy plastered with sponsors during an interview at a local coffee house. 

Making her achievements even more notable is that Stiassny has had to do so much of her training—whether hurtling around the 5K loop, bagging local mountains or clocking miles on "roller skis"—alone.

"There are only like eight other girls in my class all through [school], so, in a way [we're] all really close, but if you want to do something different, like Nordic ski, you're the only one," she says.

To reach her goals, she's had to make the long commute to Anchorage, endure an unrelenting 13-hour school-sports schedule, and learn technique through practice.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/local-nordic-racer-adds-cross-country-skiing-to-girdwood-sports-fame

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

A co-chair of Girdwood's Board of Supervisors has come under fire in social media posts and in local meetings for a position he accepted as chair of Anchorage's Federation of Community Council. 

Mike Edgington, who was elected as chair of the FCC a year ago, was not chosen by Girdwood residents to lead the group on the community's behalf, critics charge. Others are critical of bylaw changes the council is seeking under Edgington's helm.

The FCC is a non-profit that administers Anchorage's 37 community councils, including GBOS. A temporary officer was elected to run a Board of Delegates special meeting Wednesday night.

In an interview last week, Mike Edgington denied accusations against him as baseless, saying his position as chair of the FCC is to help manage the nonprofit and that the board doesn't make policy decisions.

"I think some of it is originally a misunderstanding, but it's been explained to these people and they don't care. They're going with conspiracy theories and lies," Edgington said. "And you know, with most things, what you do is, first of all, you try and attack the people, then you attack the process, then you actually look at the substance."

Edgington said he fell into the position of treasurer for the nonprofit as he had experience with organizing spreadsheets, and, when the position of chair opened after a resignation, he "was asked to do it" when no one else volunteered. 

He called the position a "time sink" which hasn't benefited him personally. 

Complaints about Edgington's position at a Land Use meeting led the committee to vote for Brice Wilbanks, vice-chair of the Land Use Committee, to serve as Girdwood's delegate to the FCC.

Read the entire story at the link below:

https://www.turnagainnews.org/articles/gbos-co-chair-attacked-for-his-position-as-head-of-anchorage-council