Rainy weather didn’t deter a crowd from gathering at Ester Community Park for the fifth annual Fairbanks Fungi Festival, a day filled with mushrooms, food, costumes and family-friendly activities.

Many of the newer Nanooks are looking forward to experiencing campus life and can’t wait to see what awaits them throughout the upcoming school year. Party in the Park heightened this excitement as the University of Alaska Fairbanks welcomed students back to campus Aug. 27 with its  annual celebration of Party in the Park celebration at Constitution Park!

There will be mud! Last Sunday, new student orientation leaders in collaboration with Nanook Recreation hosted a mud volleyball tournament in the Tanana parking lot. Eight teams of students faced off in a battle for the winning title. The tournament also had a complimentary barbecue and other field games such as spikeball for students to enjoy. 

Twenty-one students in UAF’s Emerging Scholars program traveled to Denali National Park on Aug. 14, where they hiked near the Savage River and watched a dog mushing demonstration before boarding the Alaska Railroad for a four-hour trip back to Fairbanks.

Peonies may be one of Alaska’s most successful specialty crops, and the Georgeson Botanical garden celebrated that legacy during its annual Wine and Peonies fundraiser.

Fairbanks residents celebrated nearly 22 hours of daylight on June 20 by attending the Greater Fairbanks NAACP's Juneteenth celebration at the Carlson Center and the 43rd Midnight Sun Festival downtown.

To commemorate Juneteenth, UAF Summer Sessions hosted a Music in the Garden celebration Thursday, June 18. Families across Fairbanks gathered in the Georgeson Botanical Gardens to listen to music that pays homage to Black heritage and celebrate the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. More than 900 people attended the event.

Outside Arctic Java April 17, one could hear loud shouts of praise or annoyance, and jaunty, medieval music surrounding the vicinity. Upon closer inspection, there were smiling faces around tables with  plastic swords ready to be picked up by adventurous jousters.

Undergraduate students from the University of Alaska Fairbanks gathered in the lobby of the Charles W. Davis Concert Hall Thursday to present projects funded by the Office of Undergraduate Research and Scholarly Activity, or URSA. 

Two University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers are crossing more than 1,500 miles of Alaska’s western and Arctic coast by snowmachine this spring, not just to study climate change, but to hear directly from the people living it.

Last Friday the annual Ice Jam competition was held on the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ ice tower. Competitors had toto score the fastest time climbing the tower or juggle their way up in the technical dry tool wall. The theme this year was Hawaii, intending to bring some warm and sunny vibes to a record-setting cold winter.

Across America, museums and other institutions are working on repatriating Native American artifacts and human remains, restoring history and bringing back respect and honor. The University of Alaska’s Museum of the North also participates in this cultural work.

On February 21, the Chinese Culture and Language Club welcomed Fairbanks residents to join them in ushering in the new year with their annual Chinese New Year celebration. The celebration had stunning visual performances, traditional food and a strong sense of community.