- Legendary Alaska – 28 Days in The Last Frontier – North to the Future!
- Seattle SailAway – The Legend Begins
- Cruising the Inside Passage
- Ketchikan – The Salmon Capital of the World
- Spectacular Sitka
- Hubbard Glacier – Scenic Cruising
- Valdez – The town that moved
- College Fjord – The Smartest Glaciers in the World
- Seward – Alaska Sealife Center
- CABIN CRAWL AND CAKE ME AWAY
- UNALASKA AND DUTCH HARBOR
- ARCTIC CIRCLE AND THE POLAR PLUNGE
- Nome – Berry Festival
- Three Days Crossing the Bering Sea
We take a leisurely walk around this small, friendly town and visit the Berry Festival
AT ANCHOR, NOME
We arrived off the coast of Nome last night, although it never really got dark this far north.
Our visit to Nome was a big deal for the town. They moved their annual Berry Festival from August to today to allow us to enjoy the festivities. HERE is the local paper’s “Nome Nugget” article about our visit after we left. The local radio station KNOM covered our visit LIVE, and HERE is a link to their reporting afterward.
HERE is a pdf with the HAL excursions for Nome during our visit. While this may not be offered during your visit, they will give you an idea of what was available during our visit. The tour “A Walk through Nome’s History” received rave reviews from people I spoke with afterward.
Nome fun facts:
This is the end of the Iditarod Sled Race, which takes place every March. The race starts in Anchorage and travels about 1,000 miles to Nome.
The Iron Dog Snowmobile Race: In February, the world’s longest snowmobile race travels nearly 2,000 miles from Anchorage to Nome through Fairbanks.
No roads connect the city with the rest of the state, and the only ways in and out are by air, sled dog, boat, or snow machine.
The World’s Largest Gold Pan: The town boasts the world’s largest gold pan in Anvil City Square. This may be the world’s largest WOODEN Gold Pan – I read that there is a larger metal Gold Pan in British Columbia.
Alaska’s oldest newspaper, The Nome Nugget, is the oldest newspaper in the state! The paper began publishing in 1900 and has been operating continuously ever since.
Bering Sea Ice Classic: This six-hole tournament played on the ice during Iditarod week, featuring green golf balls. More HERE
GOING ASHORE
Tenders started running at 8 am. Today’s plan was to walk around the town, visit the one yarn shop, and go to the Berry Festival. This wouldn’t take more than a few hours so we relaxed in our cabin until 11 am when we headed to the Rolling Stone lounge to get a tender ticket.
We waited 40 minutes until our tender number was called and we left the ship on a tender at 11:55 am — 45 minutes after we arrived in the Rolling Stone Lounge. Tendering wait times on this cruise have been very unpredictable. If you are planning an independent excursion in Alaska, plan for an hour wait after arrival before you can get a tender.
ARRIVAL NOME
The tender ride took about 20 minutes. We arrived at a tender pier about 1/2 mile from town center. Representatives from the Visitor’s Bureau met us at the top of the gangway leading from the tender pier and gave us a local map.
The town provided large, 11-15 passenger vans that would shuttle guests to the downtown Visitors Center and then follow a loop back to the tender landing, stopping at a few local spots, including the Nome Recreation Center, where the Berry Festival was being held.
Shuttles weren’t on a schedule but ran about every 15 minutes.
We decided to walk into town rather than wait for the next shuttle.
ANVIL SQUARE
About 1/4 mile from the tender landing, you will arrive at Anvil City Square, where you will find Old St Joes and the World’s Largest Gold Pan.
Old St Joes used to be church but it is now an event center. It may be open if you want to poke your head inside but it doesn’t offer regular hours or tours. More HEREÂ
You can’t miss the World’s Largest Gold Pan. This is a mandatory photo stop! I read that there is a larger metal gold pan in Quesnel, BC so I think that Nome’s is the largest “wooden” gold pan.
Hanson’s Trading Company is next to Anvil Square, a combination grocery store and hardware store.
Airport Pizza is nearby and serves much more than pizzas – check ’em out if you want a bite to eat. More HERE
A block north of Anvil Square is Sew Far North Yarn Shop—more HERE. We stopped here later in the day on our way back to the ship. They don’t have a huge selection of yarn, but they do have a lot of quilt fabric and other crafting supplies.
DOWNTOWN NOME
Most of Nome’s shops and restaurants are on Front Street. Here you will find the Visitor’s Center, a nice gift shop and a few restaurants and bars. There is a sign marking the end of the Iditarod sled dog race.
In addition to the Berry Festival, which was held in the Nome Recreation Center (1/2 mile away), there was the Midnight Sun Festival held on Front Street, which was aimed at local children. It offered face painting and other activities for kids.
Several groups of young entrepreneurs were selling a variety of sweets and other local crafts to raise money for a trip to Washington DC, a local gymnastic club and the school Biathlon team. Of course we bought something from all of them and enjoyed learning more about their activities and future trips.
NOME BERRY FESTIVAL
The Nome Berry Festival celebrates the wide variety of berries in the Nome region. These include wild strawberries, blueberries, and the coveted cloudberries, locally known as “salmonberries”.
Normally held in late August or early September, when the local berries are available, they moved the festival to June 21st this year to line up with our visit on the Westerdam.
After exploring Front Street, we walked to the Nome Recreation Center, where the Berry Festival was being held.
Admission is free. The festival takes place is a multi-purpose gymnasium filled with vendors sitting at tables in the center with others selling food along the sides. A small stage was along one of the long walls where local groups performed throughout the day. We spent about 90 minutes here visiting all the vendors and sitting in the stands to watch one of the local dance troupes.
HEADING BACK TO THE SHIP
We walked back to Anvil Square, which was easy to spot since the Old St Joe’s steeple could be seen from almost anywhere in town.
Sew Far North is right behind the Volunteer Fire Department. We arrived a few minutes before closing, but that was enough time to give it a quick look.
Our final stop was Hanson’s trading company, where we picked up a few snacks before walking back to the tender landing. As we walked down Seppala Drive, one of the town shuttle buses stopped and asked if we wanted a ride. We accepted and rode with them for the last 1/4 mile to the tender landing.
WORLD STAGE
Emily Viancourt was the featured performer this evening, returning for her second show. She has a great voice and we enjoyed her show very much. She told us that her boyfriend is a guest entertainer on another cruise ship in Alaska, He made it to Round 4 of The Voice. Here is her set list for the second show:
JUDY GARLAND SONGS
. You Made Me Love You (I Didn’t Want to Do It)
. For Me and My Gal
. The Trolley Song (Clang, clang, clang went the trolley)
– Crazy by Patsy Cline
– Get Your Kicks on Route 66! by Nat King Cole
– When Will I Be Loved by Linda Ronstadt
– Blue Bayou .. originally by Roy Orbison, it later became Linda Ronstadt’s signature song
– Baby I’m a Fool by Melody Gardot
– Fever by Peggy Lee
– I Got Rhythm by Judy Garland
Ending with Emily’s favorite song … Over the Rainbow by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz
Looks like you’re having a great time. Thanks for the informative post and all the photos. Continue to have fun.