(SitNews) - The City of King Cove celebrated its 100-year anniversary this past weekend. The two-day celebration included honoring the community's elders, visits from U.S. and Alaska lawmakers, a banquet, contests, games and fireworks.

Friday, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski, Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell, Alaska Senator Lyman Hoffman and Representative Bryce Edgmon arrived in King Cove to take part in the festivities. The school choir serenaded the delegates with America the Beautiful. The King Cove Aleut Dancers also performed for the special guests. Afterwards, Murkowski and Mead shared remarks with residents about the celebration, the City's rich history and its bright future.

Later Friday, King Cove residents were treated to a banquet. The community's elders were honored with biographies and photos adorning the walls of the multi-purpose room.  During the evening, the community voted for the new City of King Cove flag design. There was also a photo contest.

Saturday celebration featured several fun-filled activities. At noon, residents participated in a cook-off, craft fair, carnival games, boat exhibit, scavenger hunt, free throw and a three-on-three basketball tournament. The community barbeque fired up later Saturday afternoon. The evening wrapped up with a colorful display of fireworks.

The wide variety of events planned during the two-day celebration emphasized the community's fascinating history and its promising future. King Cove was "born" as a permanent settlement in 1911 when the Pacific American Fisheries cannery began operating. It didn't take long for the ten founding families to turn this cannery into a well-functioning community. Years later, the cannery evolved into the present-day Peter Pan Seafoods.

Some of the City's recent accomplishments include the Delta Creek hydroelectric facility, which produces 50% of the community's annual power demands. For the past 15 years, this renewable energy facility continues to be the most prolific, single-site hydro facility in rural Alaska.

One of King Cove's future goals is to see a small gravel road corridor (206 acres) built through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, linking the remote City of King Cove to the Cold Bay Airport. The road corridor would provide residents with safe and reliable transportation to the all-weather airport and the outside world for health and quality-of-life reasons. The Secretary of the Interior will decide next year whether that will become reality following an environmental impact statement.

King Cove is located on the south side of the Alaska Peninsula, on a sand spit fronting Deer Passage and Deer Island. It is 18 miles southeast of Cold Bay and 625 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Source of News: 

City of King Cove
www.cityofkingcove.com/

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