Made-in-Alaska programs featured on AlaskaONE

Submitted by Tammy Tragis-McCook
Phone: (907) 474-1890
03/09/06

Three programs spotlighting Alaska hit the award-winning AlaskaONE line up Sunday, March 12 beginning at 6 p.m. The Alaska specials are part of AlaskaONE’s spring membership campaign that aims to raise $120,000.

The adventure-travel series, Anywhere, Alaska kicks off the all-Alaska evening. Produced by KUAC, the program takes viewers to destinations often missed by guide books. It combines fantastic footage with historical facts and whimsical commentary and offers a fresh look at travel opportunities in Alaska. The two highway guide episodes feature attractions along the Dalton Highway and a journey along the Parks Highway and into the heart of Denali National Park.

Next on the schedule is the premiere of a special from KTOO in Juneau. The Governor’s House features personal reflections and anecdotes from six of Alaska’s first ladies. The women met in Juneau last summer to share their memories about the Alaska Governor’s house, a house they all once called home.

Viewers get an intimate look at the ballroom, that once hosted USO dances during World War II, two Chippendale chairs that are the oldest pieces of furniture in the house, and an original territorial seal once painted over and only revealed after a major house renovation in 1986. Another highlight of the home is the "convincing room"? where some earlier governors talked to officials who needed to be "convinced"? about important issues of the day. Nancy Murkowski allowed taping on the seldom seen second and third floors; the first family’s private living area.

Rounding out the evening is KUAC’s new documentary The 49th Star. The acclaimed program weaves interviews with original convention delegates and staff, historians and Alaskan leaders to reveal behind-the-scenes struggles for statehood. The 49th Star is part of the University of Alaska Creating Alaska Project and recounts events fifty years ago when a dedicated group of Alaskans gathered in Fairbanks to shape the future. The documentary chronicles a great story of American democracy - an account of 55 people who gathered for 75 days in sub-zero temperatures for a Constitutional Convention.

Several Alaskan luminaries including Jack Coghill, Ginger Stock-Mackenzie and Dermot Cole will be on hand to help host the night of live, Alaskan television.