Annual Holiday Party

January 28, 2019

Alaska Chapter of IWFS

It is many years since the Alaska chapter reported its activities in this journal.  Our silence has not been an indicator of inaction or lack of things to write about.  In fact we have grown in numbers to a substantial extent and our membership has now a healthy newer faction which has breathed fresh life into our organization.  Perhaps we have been waiting for an earth shattering event to add some excitement to the descriptions of gourmet dinners and exquisite wines.  

That catalyst finally happened on November 30th, 2018, and when our members met at Kinley’s Restaurant two days later for an early Christmas celebration, much of the conversation was centered around the 7.0 Anchorage earthquake, the biggest in Alaska since 1964.  This one proved capable of splitting houses in two and, equally dramatically, opening wine cabinets and spilling their contents to the ground with shattering effect. Those members whose homes shook back into their original forms inevitably suffered much breakage of glassware, art objects and precious knick-knacks.  However, not a person was injured or killed and, furthermore, the frightening earthquake brought our community together to an extent that is rarely experienced in these modern times.  We discovered that we do have hearts and can be kind and we found that government can work well under stress.

So the dinner at Kinley’s was one we will all remember both for the food and wine and the bonhomie created by an “uplifting experience”.

Alaska is the only state in the Union that does not grow grapes, but living atop a geological subduction zone can be an exciting and moving compensation for our climate zone, to say nothing about an environment that produces the best salmon, halibut, King Crab and oysters in the world.

Roger Herrera