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Food & Drink
To enjoy Alaskan cuisine one must love fish. Salmon, halibut and trout feature heavily on most menus. The delicious caribou stew is another favourite. Russian dishes, such as borscht, feature in some towns. Alaskan delicacies include smoked salmon, wild berry products and reindeer sausage. The legal drinking age is 21 but Alaska has several ‘dry’ villages where any possession of alcohol is illegal.

Nightlife
Live music is very popular in Alaska. Many bars offer a wide choice of late-night sounds, ranging from rock to jazz and blues.

Shopping
Unique Alaskan products and crafts include gold nugget jewellery; items carved from ivory and jade; handmade clothing and toys; items made from skin, fur or bone; and woven baskets of beach grass, bark and baleen. Native sea-oil candles, beaded mittens, fur mukluks and miniature hand-carved totem poles are also popular souvenirs. The ‘Made in Alaska’ logo indicates that an item has been genuinely manufactured in Alaska, and the ‘silver hand’ logo identifies Native Alaskan handicrafts.

Sport
Alaska offers some of the most spectacular fishing in the world. Rivers, lakes and streams throughout the State provide the chance to hook trout (such as rainbow, cut-throat and steelhead), as well as other, more challenging game fish including arctic grayling and sheefish. Skiing is another popular option, but the official sport of Alaska is actually dog mushing. Visitors can take a team of spirited huskies on a sled-dog tour or watch the experts at work in one of the many annual sled-dog races.

Special Events
The following is a selection of special events occurring in Alaska in 2005:
Jan 1 Annual Polar Bear Swim, Wrangell. Jan 7-9 Traditional Russian Christmas and Starring, Kodiak Island. Feb 13 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, Fairbanks. Mar 2-27 World Ice Art Championships, Fairbanks. Mar 5 Mayor’s Cup Cross-Country Snowmachine Race, Valdez. Mar 6 Tour of Anchorage Annual Ski Race, Anchorage Mar 18-20 ACS Open North American Championship Sled Dog Race, Fairbanks. Apr 11-17 31st Annual Alaska Folk Festival, Juneau. Apr 14-23 Whale Fest, Kodiak Island. May 20-28 Juneau Jazz and Classics. Jun 3-5 Celebration 2005 Native Cultural Event, Juneau. Jun 11 Fairbanks Summer Arts Folk Festival. Jun 20-21 Midnight Sun Festival, Nome. Jun 26-27 Gold Rush Days, Juneau. Jul 8-10 Bear Paw Festival, Chugiak/Eagle River. Jul 20-23 World Eskimo-Indian Olympics, Fairbanks. Jul 20-24 Golden Days 2005, Fairbanks. Aug 5-7 59th Golden North Salmon Derby, Juneau. Sep 17 Arts Faire, Ketchikan. Dec 3, 10, 17 Winter Solstice Celebrations, Fairbanks.