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Fairbanks, Alaska

Alaska, the Last Frontier. Find your inner adventurer here where pioneers forged a path to greatness. For the most up to date travel information on Fairbanks Alaska, The Fairbanks Alaska CVB website is the source for information on lodging, restaurants, attractions and events. Plan to meet Mary Shields, and learn about dog mushing in the north. The website also contains information on area weather, maps and other helpful travel aids for what ever you need for an exciting experience.

Alaska continues to be home to a diverse group of aboriginal people who first called the Last Frontier their home many thousands of years prior to the miners and merchants of the Alaskan Gold Rush. The three main groups – Athabascan Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts – are collectively referred to as Alaska Natives. However, separately, they represent different cultures, languages and beliefs. Today, 90,000 Native people constitute 15% of Alaska’s population, living in remote villages as well as urban cities like Fairbanks. Athabascans are predominant in Alaska’s vast Interior and are known for their decorative beadwork, birch bark baskets, and skin sewed garments. Fairbanks is the host city to the Festival of Native Arts, the Athabascan Old-Time Fiddling Festival, the Midnight Sun Intertribal Powwow and the World Eskimo Indian Olympics where visitors can experience a part of Alaska’s rich Native culture.

Aurora Borealis, also known as Northern Lights; Fairbanks, Alaska provides one of the best spots on earth to see them. Beautiful and mysterious curtains, the colors range from green to red to purple, with the brightest and most common color, a yellow-green. Fairbanks sits under what is called the auroral oval, a ring-shaped region around the North Pole. Our location offers a great balance of occurrence, frequency and activity. Intensity varies from night to night, with the best viewing from late evening through the wee hours of the morning, late August to April.

Fairbanks, Alaska

 

Fairbanks Alaska

Fairbanks, Alaska TIP

Visit the Fairbanks Alaska CVB website at www.explorefairbanks.com and request your free full color Fairbanks AK travel planner now.

2007-2008 Fairbanks Winter Guide Released

Fairbanks, Alaska (AK) - The 2007-2008 Fairbanks Winter Guide is now available for free. The 32-page, full-color booklet with winter activity listings and a full slate of events offers a lighthearted and informative look at winter in Interior Alaska and the Arctic.

Fairbanks is one of the top spots in the nation for dog mushing, Alaska's state sport. With a six-month season, enjoy recreational mushing and visit competitive sled dog races throughout the winter. 2008 marks the 1,000-mile 25th running of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, from Fairbanks, Alaska to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. 2007 Yukon Quest and Iditarod champion Lance Mackey has signed on to compete and defend his title when the race departs from Fairbanks on February 9, 2008.

The World Ice Art Championships runs from February 26 through March 23, 2008. Be amazed at the artistry of world-renowned ice sculptors as they take the “Arctic Diamond” and create larger-than-life-sized ice sculptures in three sculpting competitions. Kids Park is a winter favorite for families with slides, twirlees and mazes all crafted from pure crystal blue ice.

When do we turn on the northern lights? We can't make them appear with the flick of a switch but we can provide one of the best spots on the globe to see them. Fairbanks sits under the Auroral Oval, a ring-shaped region around the North Pole, with displays visible an average of 243 days during the year when there is sufficient darkness and clear skies. No guarantees, but visitors that are in Fairbanks for four days, have a 97% chance of seeing an aurora.

For a free copy of the 2007-2008 Fairbanks Winter Guide, contact the Fairbanks Convention and Visitors Bureau at 1-800-327-5774 or (907) 456-5774 or by writing to 550 First Avenue, Fairbanks, Alaska 99701. Or order the guide on line at www.explorefairbanks.com.