The annual Alaska Bearfest returns to Wrangell from Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 6-9, bringing a schedule packed with wildlife education, outdoor recreation, cultural history and community gatherings.

Organizers shortened this year’s festivities from five days down to four, adjusting the schedule to highlight safety education, regional art and wildlife conservation across the community. Saturday in particular features a dense lineup of activities.

“We continue to refine things from year to year, and we continue to look for events of interest and education for the community,” organizer Sylvia Ettefagh said.

The festival opens its 17th year on Thursday, Aug. 6, with family-focused activities and public safety instruction.

U.S. Forest Service personnel will host a reading hour for children featuring Smokey Bear at 10:30 a.m. at the Irene Ingle Public Library gazebo. Entries are due at the Nolan Center at 11:30 a.m. for the noontime “beary” pie baking contest. A cultural presentation on Tlingit heritage is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Chief Shakes Tribal House.

“There will be lots of things for people to attend where they can learn some things,” Ettefagh said. 

These topics range from bear safety and wild edible plants to traditional art and STEM technology.

Safety around wildlife remains a central focus of opening day. An outdoor shooting range workshop at 4 p.m. covers behavior in bear country and proper bear-spray techniques. Later that evening, at 6 p.m., Katmai National Park bear management technician Eric Johnston delivers the main symposium presentation at the Nolan Center, discussing strategies for human-bear coexistence.

Activities expand on Friday, Aug. 7, beginning with an 8 a.m. plant walk along the nature trail loop. Crafters can paint wooden ornaments at a 10 a.m. art session at the Nolan Center, while master woodcarver Nick Bielby begins transforming a raw timber log into a bear sculpture outside the Nolan Center at 1 p.m.

Bielby is a professional chainsaw carver and wood sculptor based in Port Angeles, Washington, who frequently participates in carving competitions such as the Oregon Divisional Chainsaw Carving Championship in Reedsport, Oregon.

A photography workshop is planned at the Nolan Center, with the time to be announced.

The festival hosts its annual dinner and fundraising auction at the Stikine Inn & Restaurant. The doors open at 5 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. The dinner usually sells out, though a dozen tickets, at $120 each, were still available as of noon Monday from Alaska Vistas at 907-874-3006.

The dinner features dishes prepared by chef Lauren Thompson, incorporating a little bit of Italian style. She serves as the head chef at Cafe Lago, a long-standing Tuscan-inspired Italian restaurant in Seattle.

“We want people to understand that the dinner is how we can pay for different things that we do,” Ettefagh said. “The money we raise goes back into how we can support the community.”

Saturday, Aug. 8, features the festival’s busiest schedule. Golfers tee off at 10 a.m. at Muskeg Meadows, coinciding with a community market and art workshops at the Nolan Center. Bjelby will perform chainsaw art outside the center throughout the day, sculpting a bear from a log.

Children’s activities start at 11 a.m. on the Nolan Center lawn with science experiments, games and the fish toss. Thompson leads a cooking demonstration on homemade gnocchi at midday, coinciding with a youth science and technology session.

Educational seminars resume Saturday afternoon. Forest Service team leader Jennifer Kartiske gives a presentation at 1 p.m. on visiting the Anan Wildlife Observatory safely, followed by a bear spray demonstration at 2:30 p.m.

A seafood cooking contest at 3 p.m. leads into an informal music jam session of Wrangell musicians at the Nolan Center. Organizers intentionally avoided booking full musical acts for the weekend schedule.

“We made a conscious decision to not bring in a band this year, as a nod to the Milk Run Music Festival being the resource for bringing in music,” Ettefagh said.

Athletes gather at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Nolan Center for a pre-race pasta dinner before the festival concludes Sunday, Aug. 9, with the Bearfest running races. Registration opens at 7 a.m. Sunday at the Nolan Center, with the half marathon launching at 8 a.m., followed by 5K runners, walkers and cyclists at 8:30 a.m.