The Championship Ice Carving Team from Harbin, China came down to Town Square December 26 – 30 creating a Disney Themed Children’s Ice Park. They transformed 4000 lb. blocks of ice into works of art! Members of this team have won at least ten first place and multiple top five finishes in World Ice Carving competitions including Italy, Canada, Russia, China, Holland and Alaska and have been competing for 30 years.

Enjoy a fun filled festival with live music, art fair, master gardeners, garden tours and flower power gardening sale! Don’t miss out on this one day celebration at the Festival of Flowers combined with the first Live After Five Concert of the summer in Downtown Anchorage on Friday, June 1st from Noon to 8:00pm in Town Square.

Also be sure to purchase your downtown hanging baskets!

Brought to you by ConocoPhillips, Royal Celebrity, Anchorage Parks & Recreation, and Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd.

Come celebrate the career and retirement of Anchorage School District superintendent Carol Comeau. A life-long advocate for our city’s youth, Comeau has dedicated her career to creating a strong, supportive community for students to succeed. Her commitment to 90 percent by 2020, Anchorage’s plan to increase graduation rates, has fueled a movement. Join us in honoring her and help us accelerate her vision of the 90 by 2020 program.

Contact: 907-263-3817

There will also be some hard copies available at the workshop, along with CDs of the plan for those who don’t have ready access to the internet.

What is it?

The Anchorage Historic Preservation Plan for the Downtown, South Addition, Fairview, and Government Hill neighborhoods is anticipated to be the foundation for historic preservation planning throughout the Anchorage Bowl area.

This community-based plan sponsored by the Municipality of Anchorage will focus on preserving historic character while planning for a sustainable future in Anchorage’s original neighborhoods.

What will it do?

The Anchorage Historic Preservation Plan will:

• Define the Historical Character of Anchorage’s four original neighborhoods.
• Research and recommend the preservation on certain buildings, structures, sites, objects, districts, and landscapes.
• Contribute to the development of preservation programs and projects for the four neighborhoods.
• Develop a set of historic preservation guidelines that can used throughout Anchorage.
• Involve the public at every step and milestone.
• Meet the Secretary of the Interior’s standards for the treatment of historical properties and standards for preservation planning.
• Meet the objectives of Anchorage’s local Historic Preservation Program.
• Meet the objectives of Alaska’s Historic Preservation Program.
• Make a positive contribution to the history and heritage of the people and cultures of Anchorage.
• Provide educational opportunities to our residents, including kids of every age.
• Identify locations and stories that will contribute to tourism and the visitor’s experience in Anchorage.
• Be crafted by Anchorage’s residents, interested parties, and supporters.
• Be adopted by our governing bodies as a component to the Anchorage 2020 – Anchorage Bowl Comprehensive Plan.

Learn more about the project here.

Mark your calendar, tune your bike, recruit some co-workers and plan your route for Friday, May 18th and participate in the 2012 Anchorage Bike to Work Day! Featuring team registration, tee-shirt drawing, a Bike To Work survey and fun!

Start your team list and brainstorm a name, then visit the Muni sign-up page.

(“Bike to Work” photo credit Haley Sorbel)

Lunched at Crush today. Yum. Now, hours later, I’m remembering the savory goodness.

Watched the women at the next table drinking a flight of wine with lunch and wondered where they work and why I don’t work there.

The menu at Crush has added some refreshing new options. A cucumber and radish tea sandwich. Don’t see that on a menu every day.

Crush is great about trying new things and adding interesting, refreshing new options to their menu.

It’s worth stopping by from time to time to try out the new stuff. The genius is that they always seem to keep the crowd favorites too.

I also appreciate that they have dairy free options and are willing to make things dairy free for me with creative sauces or toppings.

If I want the grilled sirloin steak sandwich or the chicken foccacia sandwich they manage to create some kind of great non-dairy way to spruce it up for me.

Today I tried some amazing new lemon herb chicken dish. Wow. That’s what I’m still thinking about hours later.

Crush Wine Bistro is on 6th Avenue across from Nordstroms. They are open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday.

You deserve the kind of meal that you just can’t stop thinking about.

Kobuk Coffee Company has a wide assortment of gift ideas. Whenever I have trouble finding just the right thing for someone I head to Kobuk.

They have a great assortment of old fashioned candies. They have teas and coffees. They have fine china and fun collectables.

Now Kobuk Coffee Company has an updated website. Go visit www.kobukcoffee.com to see what kinds of items they carry, learn about the history of the store and even order coffee, tea and china online.

The real reason I’m drawn to Kobuk Coffee Company is tucked in the back of the store. The bakery. Here you will find the BEST old fashioned donuts on earth. The cookies, the cakes, the pies…all are amazing.

They also make homemade soup daily and have some sandwiches pre-made if you are looking for lunch.

I’ve been known to grab a cup of soup and a tuna sandwich, but the real reason I stop by the back is to see what goodies are on display.

Kobuk Coffee Company is on 5th Avenue at the corner of E Street across from the Egan Center. This is also a historic building and you can hear about it’s history on the website.

Stop by Kobuk to find the perfect gift for Mom and get yourself a sweet treat from the bakery. You won’t be disappointed.

Be sure to check back for the upcoming agenda.

Questions? Please call ADP at 279-5650.

Fostering the flower baskets costs $300, and represents the total cost of planting, growing and maintaining these two baskets. Donors are rewarded for their contribution with a metal plaque custom printed with their name or business on one of the downtown poles. By fostering the flower baskets, we can ensure the future of the “City of Flowers” program while bringing color and beauty to our streets.

To Foster A Flower, please contact ADP Community Services at 279-5650 or download the application form here. Contributions to the ADP Community Services are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Federal Tax ID#73-1665266

Collect a sticker by purchasing an entree at any restaurant on the game card. You get one sticker per restaurant, meaning you need to try new places in order to fill up your card.

6 stickers = $10 dining certificate
12 stickers = $25 dining certificate
20 stickers = (2) $25 dining certificates
25 stickers = (2) $25 dining certificates & (2) $10 Dining certificates
* Reward dining certificates are randomly selected at time of card drop off *

To Redeem Card

To redeem your card, please drop it off or mail it to:
Anchorage Downtown Partnership, Ltd.
333 West 4th Ave. Suite 317 Anchorage, AK 99501

Grand Prize

Every card that you redeem automatically becomes your entry into our Grand Prize drawing for weekend get-away packages, dining certificates, tickets to the hottest shows & much more!

Find where to park!

Thanks to EasyPark for putting together this handy list of all the 100 Days of Downtown Dining participants and the closest parking options for each of these restaurants. Check it out at: http://4sq.com/z1Gr4k

Participating Restaurants