Mobile Workshop Information
Explore the Backbone of the Bull by Bike!
TIME: Wednesday, Sept 20 - 1:45pm - 5:00pm (2 CM)
Anchorage has one of the best urban trail systems in the United States, with hundreds of miles of paved and multi-use trails connecting our city. Our four main multi-use trails—the Lanie Fleischer Chester Creek Trail, the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, the Campbell Creek Trail, and the Ship Creek Trail—can be connected to each other to form a 32-mile bike loop, an almost-complete urban greenway that is, when viewed on a map, in the shape of a moose!
Join Municipality of Anchorage Parks Planners and partners on this tour of one of the most popular trails in Anchorage and learn more about the intersection of land use, parks, recreation, trails planning, and economic development in Alaska's largest community.
Bike Rental: This workshop requires participants reserve a bike of your choice for three hours, from 2-5 pm. Participants will walk as a group to the bike rental location from the hotel. Reserve your bike ahead of time at Pablo's Bicycle Rentals: https://www.pablobicyclerentals.com/.
Distance & Difficulty: 13-14 miles; medium, due to length. Not technical, all paved trails, limited elevation change.
Gear: Bring gloves and raingear! Water will be provided.
COST: $15 plus bike rental, approx. $25 & Up (bike type dependent)
Feel the Heartbeat of Alaska’s Indigenous Peoples at the Alaska Native Heritage Center
TIME: Thursday, Sept 21 - 10:15pm - 12:00pm (2 CM)
Join us for a private walking/talking tour of the Alaska Native Heritage Center, a renowned living cultural center located in Anchorage, Alaska that promotes active observance of Alaska Native culture and traditions. As the only statewide cultural and education center dedicated to celebrating all cultures and heritages, ANHC serves as a statewide resource for Alaska Natives from birth until Elder, and we support and celebrate Alaska Natives from all of Alaska’s Native cultures, including Iñupiaq, St. Lawrence Island Yupik, Athabascan, Eyak, Haida, Tsimshian, Tlingit, Unangax̂, Alutiiq/Sugpiaq, Yup’ik, and Cup’ik.
More than a museum, the Center is a place to engage and interact–to ask questions and discover. During your private group tour, you will stroll through six authentic life-sized Native dwellings situated in a wooded area around beautiful Lake Tiulana. You will learn about the traditional lifeways of Alaska’s diverse Native cultures from one of our Culture Bearers. Participants will have an immersive experience through ANHC’s permanent collections and life-sized village sites and an opportunity to engage with ANHC staff to learn more about the Center, including future projects and ways the Center works with planners.
The tour begins at the conference hotel and includes a motorcoach from the conference hotel.
Snacks and water provided!
COST: $60
Targeted Redevelopment and Neighborhood Transformation in Spenard
TIME: Thursday, Sept 21 - 1:45pm - 4:30pm (2 CM)
Join Cook Inlet Housing Authority (CIHA) for a combined van/walking tour of expansive redevelopment work in the Spenard neighborhood of Anchorage. CIHA, an Alaska Regional Housing Authority and Tribally Designated Housing Entity, moved its headquarters to the intersection of 36th Avenue and Spenard Road in 2004. In 2010, CIHA began acquiring troubled or blighted properties in the neighborhood, including a brownfields gas station site and a former strip club. The EPA and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation funded brownfield assessment work and the redevelopment included substantial remediation.
More than a decade later, these efforts have culminated in a new community arts and culture hub; mixed-use and multi-generational apartment buildings; renovated office space for small businesses and nonprofits; a commercial kitchen incubator for small food businesses; “missing middle” housing; and public art honoring the traditional lands of the Dena’ina. This mobile workshop will showcase neighborhood-level transformation and environmental stewardship in one of the city’s lowest-income census tracts. Speakers will explore the learnings and challenges of the redevelopment, including needs for infrastructure and zoning and land use creativity.
The tour begins at the conference hotel and includes a motorcoach from the conference hotel.
Snacks and water provided!
Part of the workshop proceeds will go to the CIHA Artist-in-Residence Program!
COST: $50
Tourism, Towns, & Trolleys!
TIME: Thursday, Sept 21 - 2:45pm - 4:40pm (1.5 CM)
Join local Alaskan guides through a fully narrated 15-mile scenic journey, where you’ll catch breathtaking views, learn about Anchorage’s rich history, gain an insider’s view of local life, and learn about economic development initiatives, including past and recent redevelopment efforts and housing projects in Downtown Anchorage...all while enjoying the ride in clean and comfortable trolleys. Watch seaplanes splash land on Lake Hood, hit scenic viewpoints with mountain and ocean views, travel through Earthquake Park, and visit local businesses.
The tour will begin with a group walk and talk to the Anchorage Trolley Tours located in Downtown Anchorage, five blocks from the conference hotel. Snacks and water provided!
COST: $35