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The community of Unalaska is a busy place to live. Our community calendar is full of events and activities. About Town is your source for coverage of community events and sports. KUCB staff writes many of the stories, but we also accept contributions from community members for this section of our website. If you'd like to submit a story to About Town, send it to info@kucb.org.

Unalaskans Are Merry and Bright at the PCR Holiday Events

The first day of December was filled with a flurry of festive activities and the occasional flurry of sleet this year at the annual City of Unalaska Department of  Parks, Culture, and Recreation Holiday Bazaar, St. Jude Santa Fun Run and Christmas Tree Lighting.

Unalaskans arrived to the PCR at 1pm to a winter wonderland brimming with activity. Some perused a variety hand-made wares thoughtfully displayed by local artists, others went straight to Santa and Mrs. Claus for traditional pictures, while a few parked in front of the impressive array of gingerbread houses, ready to vote for their favorite structure. 

Neither snow nor rain nor clouds of day could keep this happy Santa from jogging in the St. Jude's Santa Fun Run!

Around 3pm, a few dozen brave athletes donned knit hats and beards and varying degrees of weatherproof gear for the St. Jude Santa Fun Run. This walk/run was a 5K to Kelty Field and back, and those who finished were rewarded with hot cocoa the warm feeling of supporting St. Jude Children's Hospital.   

The clouds departed by 6:30pm and the festive day came to an end with the annual Christmas Tree Lighting in front of the Burma Road Chapel. This year, the “tree” was a creative arrangement of lights on a sturdy flag pole in hopes that the display remained, “lit and vertical,” according to Recreation Manager Albert Burnham. The crowd was treated to cookies and cocoa and sang a rousing version of “Deck the Halls” before illuminating the tree.

A sturdy "tree" to last through the season at the Christmas Tree Lighting.

A huge thank you to the City of Unalaska Department of  Parks, Culture, and Recreation for the hard work they put into making this day magical, and make sure to watch the video clip from this event on Wednesday, December 5th at 8pm on Channel 8 TV. 

Participants in the St. Jude Santa Fun Run

Chrissy worked as the Arts & Culture Director from 2015 until she moved away from the community in 2019. She now works with us as a consultant, producer, and video editor on special projects.