Homer Alaska - Announcements

Historians will debate former Gov. Sarah Palin's legacy for decades, but God bless her, you have to give the ex-guv some credit. After all, she gave us Marmot Day.

Groundhogs, feh. We have ground squirrels, or what the Inupiaq call siksriks. We have shrews, voles, lemmings and other critters that live underground — but no groundhogs. So how the heck can an icebound northern state possibly predict the extent of winter?

Sure, in the reality based world, climatologists would point out that pretty much from early September to late May most of Alaska freezes. You can cite average monthly temperatures, daylight hours and annual average snow depth, and accurately predict that for the next six weeks it will be below freezing, somewhat dark and with snow on the ground. You know, winter as we know it.

That would be so scienterrific, though. In her wisdom, Sen. Linda Menard, R-Wasilla, introduced a bill declaring Feb. 2 Marmot Day, the Legislature passed it and Palin signed it. Apparently the Alaska Legislature does have a little time on its hands during the 90-day session.

Not that a Matanuska Mabel emerged from her marmot den, looked at her shadow and said, "Uh, Alaskans, we're going to have more winter." It's only a matter of time before some enterprising Alaska town starts the tradition. We'll have a Marmot Day festival with a pancake feed, a high school band and some guy in a big dead-animal trapper hat pulling Mabel from her winter sleep. Maybe Bill Murray will make a guest appearance.

As the pagans have long known, though, Feb. 2 marks the earth's movement around the sun. We're halfway to spring, Betsteroids. As of Monday, we now have eight hours of daylight. That's reason enough to celebrate, maybe with some of these Best Bets:

BEST OUT AND ABOUT BET: First Friday tends to get a little light in the winter, with some galleries closed and others not opening new shows, but hey, there's enough First Friday action going on to make a night of it. Check out the galleries on Pioneer Avenue and in Old Town. Don't forget Findlay Abbott's wood carving show at Observance of Hermits in the East Village Shopping Center. Check out the showing at 7 p.m. of "On Each Side" for the Kachemak Bay Campus Foreign Film Fridays series, too.

BEST BEANTOWN BET: Chris Smither has come here all the way from Boston to share what the New York Times calls "a weary, well-traveled voice and a serenely intricate finger-picking style." Smither plays one concert only at 7 p.m. today at the Down East Saloon. Tickets are $21 in advance at the Down East and the Homer Bookstore or $23 at the door.

BEST BIG APPLE BET: Sure, Boston has the Red Sox, Harvard and as many folksingers as it has bad drivers, but New York City has the Metropolitan Opera. You could hop on a plane ($500 round trip) and try to get tickets. Or, you can go the Homer Theatre at noon Sunday and for $15 see The Met: Live in HD with another showing of the winter opera series. This week's opera is "Der Rosenkavalier," Richard Strauss' comic masterpiece of love and intrigue.

BEST BABY BELUGA BET: If you're a child of a certain age, the word "beluga" sets off an earworm with Raffi's children's song. If you can't quit humming "Baby beluga in the deep blue sea," check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's public hearings starting at 6 p.m. today on whether or not the feds should designate Kachemak Bay and parts of Cook Inlet critical habitat to protect beluga whales. Speak your mind at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center.

BEST OH THAT GAME BET: If you're planning on pigging out for the Superbowl, do some pre-burning of calories with a good ski for a good cause starting at 1 p.m. Sunday. You'll have plenty of time before kickoff to do the annual Ski for Women. Wear a costume or ski for fun. A $15 fee benefits South Peninsula Haven House. The ski starts at the Schwiesow Stadium at the Lookout Mountain trail on Ohlson Mountain Road. Register at noon.

Homer's Best Bets