4 Best Performing Arts Venues in The Bush, Alaska

Every spring, an arts group hosts a celebration called Cama-i (in Yup'ik, cama-i means "hello"), a three-day dance and art festival in the local high school's gym in late March or the first half of April. Expect dancing, singing, art and crafts vendors, 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 all over.

The city of Unalaska holds the Heart of the Aleutians Festival every August. A beloved local tradition, this two-day gathering brings together residents and visitors of all ages for fun runs, live local music, dance groups, kids' games, and browsing vendors selling specialty foods and arts and crafts. This celebration of summer, friends, family, and community draws more than 500 people.

Billed as "The Last Great Race," the Iditarod pulls in people 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 to cross under the burled arch. The race starts on the first weekend of March and covers about 1,049 snowy, icy, wild 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.