For more information and to buy tickets online, click here.

And get your tickets soon — we’re limiting ticket sales this year to make a better event for everyone attending.

(Photo by Jeff Medkeff. Click the image for a larger version at Flickr)

FRIDAY, AUGUST 29

• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 3:30pm broadcast of Palin intro and acceptance of John McCain’s VP nod from earlier today in Dayton, Ohio
• Listen to the introduction and speech again on-demand at kska.org, kakm.org and aprn.org
• KSKA.ORG / KAKM.ORG — 4:00pm listen to and/or download Anchorage Edition, featuring local reaction and analysis of the Palin VP pick
• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 4:00pm coverage from NPR as part of All Things Considered
• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 6:00pm complete statewide coverage from APRN as part of Alaska News Nightly
• APRN.ORG — 6:00pm listen to and/or download Alaska News Nightly’s coverage online
• APRN.ORG / AKRADIO.ORG — 7:00pm listen to and/or download a special episode of AK focused on Sarah Palin (originally broadcast in February 2008, now updated)
• KAKM (Channel 7) — 6:00pm coverage from PBS as part of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 7:30pm listen to reaction from local political observers during Anchorage Edition
• KAKM (Channel 7) — 8:00pm tune in to Digital TV channel 7.3 (or GCI cable channel 15) for 360 North’s broadcast of historic Sarah Palin events
• KAKM (Channel 7) — 9:00pm see the TV broadcast of Anchorage Edition, featuring local analysis of the Palin announcement

SATURDAY, AUGUST 30

• KSKA (FM 91.1) – More news throughout the day from NPR
• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 10:00am broadcast of an updated version of AK’s Sarah Palin episode, originally broadcast in February 2008
• KAKM (Channel 7) — 5:00pm rebroadcast of Anchorage Edition

MONDAY - THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 1-4

• KSKA (FM 91.1) – Republican National Convention coverage each evening, some live, some tape-delayed and all from NPR in Minneapolis (times will vary, tune in for details)
• KAKM (Channel 7) — 7:00pm to 10:00pm tune in for coverage of the Republican National Convention from the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2

• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 10:00am tune in and call in during a special Talk of Alaska (from APRN) focused on Sarah Palin and her ascendancy to the VP spot on the Republican ticket
• APRN.ORG — 11:30am listen to and/or download Talk of Alaska
• KSKA (FM 91.1) — 11:00am listen to the rebroadcast of the special Sarah Palin edition of AK (also available for download at aprn.org and akradio.org)

We stopped today, in the midst of a busy week with RUNNING and the Alaska Primary slated for next week, to smell the flowers. Or at least snap a few photos.

Have you taken time to smell some late summer blooms?

Click on over to Flickr for a view of the flowers around our facility in Anchorage. And if you’ve got a moment, post a comment below with a link to your own photos — we’d like to see if everyone else’s flowers are blooming this late in the summer, too.

These are some spooky-good photos that makes an amateur photographer like me scratch my head and wonder, “How did he do that?!”

The kids’ photos are especially delightful. Check out the complete gallery — now with 126 photos — on Flickr.

The Alaska Public Radio Network was incorporated as a nonprofit public service company 30 years ago this week — on July 28, 1978. Plus, KSKA Public Radio first went on the air August 15, 1978. It’s their combined 30th anniversary and we had a bit of a picnic at APRN headquarters in Anchorage on Wednesday evening.

Click the image above to visit our photo gallery from the event.

In addition to being a birthday for APRN in Anchorage, it’s also for all the public radio stations statewide that have participated in this unique venture over all these years.

No need to send flowers — just be sure to make an annual donation to your local public radio station in Alaska.

The New Face of China — a digital slide presentation by award-winning Anchorage photographer Clark James Mishler — will be presented at the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center on Thursday, May 15 at 7:00 p.m. Proceeds will benefit KSKA Public Radio (FM 91.1).

The suggested donation for adults is $10 and students with identification are invited to attend free.

Mishler, a freelance photographer, and his wife Mitzi will share their insights and imagery from their recent trip to China’s Yunnan and Guangdong Provinces where they explored the lives of ordinary people and their rural activities.

“The land is largely unchanged over the past 50 years,” said Mishler. “This presentation will be perfect for those who wish to learn more about China as well as those who may wish to visit.”

Mishler’s work has appeared in numerous regional, national and international publications including the National Geographic Magazine and is a member of the American Society of Media Photographers and the National Press Photographers Association.

He recently published Anchorage: Life at the Edge of the Frontier, an art photo book documenting the people and places of Alaska’s largest city.

Aside from a brief celebration in-house (before we got right back to work on the next episode) we also invited KTUU Channel 2 to stop by and have a look at how AK is produced and what makes this little four-year-old a winner. They profiled the show in the following brief video story, graciously shared online by KTUU via YouTube:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone that listens to and supports both AK and the public radio system in Alaska. We absolutely couldn’t do it without you.

For now, we’d better get back to work on the next 200 episodes…

The broadcast is part of KAKM’s digital multi-cast service, so viewers will need a digital television with tuner to receive the signal over-the-air on KAKM DT 7.3.

The coverage also is available to cable viewers from KTOO on 37 cable systems statewide, including all of the GCI Cable systems, as well as on satellite TV’s Dish Network and online at www.ktoo.org/gavel.

“We believe there’s value in bringing coverage of government and the legislative process to as many Alaskans as possible,” said Steve Lindbeck, President and General Manager of Alaska Public Telecommunications, Inc., parent company of KAKM TV. “And we’re delighted to bring this service to Southcentral Alaska.”

“This is a terrific chance to use KAKM’s new digital television technology to bring state government closer to all Alaskans,” said Bill Legere, KTOO President and General Manager. “Digital TV provides enormous opportunity for public service in Alaska, and this collaboration between KAKM and KTOO is one of the first statewide opportunities to demonstrate the potential.”

Gavel to Gavel Alaska, the statewide television and Internet web casting service, is produced by KTOO. Throughout the session, cameras in the state capitol will televise unedited, start-to-finish coverage of House and Senate floor sessions, key committee hearings, news conferences and other state government activity.

Tickets on sale now: $50/person in advance ($60 at the door). Proceeds benefit

• KSKA Public Radio
• KAKM Public Television
• APRN — the Alaska Public Radio Network

Thanks to everyone that came out to our Member Appreciation Picnic last night! It was great weather and we were delighted to meet so many folks we work hard to serve every day. We hope you enjoyed the sunshine, hot dogs, lemonade, popcorn and cookies, plus the TV and radio studio tours and even the live music from our very own Ellen Lockyer.

We’ve got some photos to share, too. They’re posted on Flickr and you can either browse the photos or check out a slideshow.

We’re expecting to post more photos next week when we get them from professional photographer Clark James Mishler. And we may just post a short video, too. Check back!

In the mean time, thanks again to our generous event sponsors:

• Indian Valley Meats
• Hot Dog on a Stick (they provided the fantastic lemonade)
• Regal Foods
• Carrs/Safeway
• Anchorage Downtown Partnership
• Alaska Chip Company
• Cafe Croissant (yay –cookies!)
• Northern Air Cargo

You can check out the original “invitation,” with details, here.

This time the Association for Women in Communications has selected AK as its 2007 Clarion Award winner for Radio Regular Feature Program. AK’s honor comes alongside other public radio winners in 2007 such as KCRW in Santa Monica, long-running weekly food show The Splendid Table and top-quality journalism from American RadioWorks.

The 2007 Clarion Award for AK follows last month’s win at the Public Radio News Directors, Inc. (PRNDI) conference in New Orleans, where AK beat out national entries from 35 large-market stations. AK was also the first show in PRNDI history to take the Best News and Public Affairs Program three years in a row — or three years in any order.

Please join us in congratulating AK! And if you’d like to hear the award-winning episode, click here.

You can listen to AK on KSKA FM 91.1 each week on Saturday mornings at 10:00 a.m., repeating on Tuesday mornings at 11:00 a.m., right after Talk of Alaska.