4 Best Performing Arts in The Bush, Alaska

In the spring, the Bethel Council on the Arts hosts a regional celebration called the Cama-i Dance Festival (in Yup'ik, cama-i means "hello"). This three-day festival takes place in the local high school's gym in late March or the first half of April. Expect dancing, singing, art and crafts, and a community potluck for sharing food and stories. Cama-i brings people together from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, along with dance groups and visitors from across Alaska and the world.

The city of Unalaska holds the Heart of the Aleutians Festival every August. A beloved local tradition, this free, two-day festival brings together residents of all ages to peruse art and crafts, listen to local music, eat specialty foods, participate in fun runs, and much more during a celebration of summer, friends, family, and community.

Billed as "The Last Great Race," the Iditarod pulls in spectators and mushers from around the world to participate as racers, volunteers, and fans in this massive feat of endurance for mushers and their dogs. Many visitors watch the dog teams take off from the ceremonial start in Anchorage and then travel to the finish line in Nome to celebrate as teams come in. The race starts on the first weekend of March and covers about 1,049 snowy, icy, backcountry miles from its official start in Willow, 90 miles north of Anchorage, to Nome.

Every January, the Kuskokwim 300 Sled Dog Race—“K300” to locals—brings mushers and fans to Bethel, where the 300-mile race both starts and ends. The best known of the middle-distance dogsled races, the K300 course commemorates one of the earliest mail routes used in the Bush. The $150,000 or more purse comes as a welcome reward after negotiating the notoriously harsh and difficult weather and trail conditions. Smaller, shorter races happen later in the winter in Bethel as well.