Chickaloonies

In the flower of the tundra, creativity is blooming. Nurtured by generations of pain, perseverance and love, this community has thrived against all odds to burst forth from under the ice and reach upwards toward the heavens.

Isolated, yet more connected than any city sprawl, Bethel is unique even amongst its sister cities in Alaska. Between the high food prices, limited water supply and treacherous travel conditions, one might wonder why anyone would choose to live in a place like this.

But after 3 days of KuskoCon, we’ll tell you why. Bethel is a place where people stop to offer a ride on the side of the road. Where people actually know their neighbors. Where people understand the importance of supporting local, even if it’s an overpriced, badly made pottery bowl.

What started as an off handed daydream became a 3 day event that distilled all these values into one hyper crystallized arctic alpine forget me not, glistening under the winter sun.

And We’ve only begun to see what will come from the seeds of this frigid fauna.

Huge huge thanks to Theresa and Mikela of KCL for making this happen, to the other amazing storytellers we had the honor of sharing the stage and to the community of Bethel who welcomed us with open arms. We cannot wait to return for the inevitable 2nd year of this beautiful and rare thing that is KuskokCon.