Fairbanks is one month away from the Midnight Sun Festival and Midnight Sun Run, which take place on June 24.
The Midnight Sun Festival is from noon to midnight in downtown Fairbanks. The Downtown Association expects more than 40,000 participants at the event.
“In the Midnight Sun Festival’s 41st year, The Downtown Association is thrilled to be able to come back with the biggest festival in many years with exciting partners, fantastic vendors, over 40 musical performances, and a deep love of the community,” Olivia Dowling, the owner of Golden Heart Consulting and the organizer of the festival, said.
The festival boasts of 120 vendors and 40 performances on four stages. The fourth stage will sit where the Polaris building annex currently sits.
For the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic, the festival will extend to Fourth Avenue. The festival on Fourth Avenue will include a kids zone with bounce houses and kid-focused booths, Dowling said.
The festival also brought back banners with the festival’s sponsors’ logos. “It’ll bring a breath of fresh air downtown,” Dowling said.
The festival hosts several additional events. Spin for a Cause is hosted by F&H Fitness Studio in the Immaculate Conception Church parking lot from 3-7:30 p.m. Proceeds from Spin for a Cause go to The Cohen Clinic and Our 2 Cents Fairbanks, Inc. First Avenue will be home to a 3 on 3 basketball tournament. Yukon Quest Alaska will also host events with sled dog puppies in Golden Heart Plaza. Kendall Auto will host the Hero Games from 3-6 p.m. in front of Rabinowitz Courthouse. The Vernon L. Nash Antique Auto Club will host a vintage car show in the parking lot of the courthouse.
The Downtown Association will sell T-shirts designed by North Pole resident Emily Coppinger. “The logo shows how lucky we are that our city is surrounded by such beauty, and how the endless sunlight allows for much to be explored,” she said.
Dowling said Coppinger’s design highlights the summer solstice, downtown Fairbanks, the hills and the Alaska Range.
About 4,000 participants from 33 states and three countries will run in the Annual Midnight Sun Run, a 10-kilometer race. The race starts at 10 p.m. at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Patty Center and finishes at Pioneer Park.
Proceeds from the run benefit Fairbanks Resource Agency, a nonprofit which serves people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and seniors with Alzheimer’s. “We are honored and grateful to have the privilege to put the race on,” Wendy Cloyd of FRA said.
Activities at the start include a kid zone, a disc golf course from the Fairbanks Disc Golf Association, and a costume contest. Rocky Barnette will emcee the event and the South Cushman Social Club will provide music.
Applications for the Paula Kothe Midnight Sun Run Scholarship are due Friday. The scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who balance academic and athletic achievements and plan to pursue higher education.
Fairbanks Resource Agency is seeking volunteers for bib pick up, the start line, race course, and at the finish line. Shifts last between two and four hours.
The race costs $30 until May 31. Registration from June 1 to 17 costs $35, $40 from June 17 to 23, and $45 on the day of the race. Children 12-years-old and younger cost $15.
Contact Haley Lehman at 907-459-7575 or by email at hlehman@newsminer.com.
