Arts and Entertainment
This weekend in Anchorage: A bike tour, running races and plenty of live music
Anchorage historian David Reamer and artist Duke Russell will regale bike tour riders with stories Thursday, with a special focus on Spenard.
Irish musician-actor Glen Hansard, Oscar winner for ‘Once,’ dies in Dublin motorcycle crash
Hansard, 56, played a member of a Dublin soul band in “The Commitments” and won an Oscar in 2008 for the song “Falling Slowly” from the film “Once,” in which he also starred.
Bachman-Turner Overdrive to perform at 2026 Alaska State Fair
The band was booked as a replacement for The Beach Boys, who last week canceled their scheduled state fair appearance.
Book review: ‘Sisters of the Midnight Sun’ is a gripping legal procedural
Author Rebecca Wright Stevens tells the story of defending Amos Lane, who was accused of committing a double murder in Utqiaġvik in the early 1990s.
Paramount delays closing on Warner buyout while judge considers states’ challenge
A judge had granted a temporary restraining order to freeze the transaction, noting that the 12 states that sued to block the merger had made a strong case about its potential to “substantially lessen competition.”
This weekend in Anchorage: Fairs, festivals and fishing
There’s also an improv doubleheader, music and a dog jog.
Beach Boys cancel concert planned for Alaska State Fair
The band also canceled a scheduled performance at the 2025 fair.
Judge says Paramount and Warner must halt merger for at least two weeks, granting states’ request
Twelve states, led by California, sued to block Paramount’s pending buyout of Warner last week— alleging that such a combination would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and lead to fewer choices for consumers.
Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ storms the box office with a $264.1 million global debut
In a Hollywood where intellectual property rights rule most hits, Nolan turned one of the world’s oldest works of literature into an unlikely summer blockbuster.
Book review: A 50-year passion project culminates in a portrait of a time and a tragedy
Historian Doug Capra has deeply chronicled the lives of John and Ginger Davidson, who were lost at sea in 1977 traveling from Seward to their homestead with their 3-year-old son.
Arriving in Alaska on a whim 35 years ago, author Jen Funk Weber made puzzles her profession
She has produced around 25 puzzle books and has contributed to dozens of different magazines.
Embarking on an odyssey to read ‘The Odyssey’ before seeing ‘The Odyssey’
People are doing a crash course in the classics by attempting to finish Homer’s epic in time for the release of the Christopher Nolan film.
Anchorage actor Xavior Love brings one-person play to NYC theater festival
The Bartlett High graduate is performing “The Crossword Play” this week at the Midtown International Theatre Festival.
California and 11 other states sue to block Paramount’s takeover of Warner Bros
The lawsuit argues the $81 billion mega merger would “extinguish competition” in Hollywood and threaten jobs across the industry.
Sam Neill, New Zealand actor who starred in ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘The Piano,’ dies at 78
In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He died on Monday in Sydney.
Book review: This literary thriller set in the Interior is filled with intrigue and family tension
The fictional town of Whitespur and characters help bring the subarctic winter landscape fully and believably to life.
16 new books for July including romance, mystery, fantasy and more
The best part of summer reading is that you can read anything. The most challenging part? You can read anything, so what will you choose?
Julia Quinn, author of Bridgerton romance series, to appear at Anchorage libraries
The creator of the Regency-era romance series that was adapted into a hit Netflix show will be in Alaska on Oct. 16 and 17.
Bonnie Tyler, who topped the charts with epic ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart,’ has died at 75
Tyler died unexpectedly in a hospital in Portugal where she was being treated for an illness, her family said Thursday.
7 things to do around Anchorage this weekend
There is plenty of music as well as the annual Bear Paw Festival.
7 surprises and snubs from the Emmy nominations
“The Pitt” and “Hacks” dominated the field, but there was plenty that was unexpected in Wednesday’s announcement. The Emmys are set to take place Sept. 14.
‘The Pitt’ leads with 25 Emmy nominations and ‘Hacks’ is top among comedies with 24
Two new shows from AppleTV+, the one-woman-against-the-hivemind drama “Pluribus” and the horror comedy “Widow’s Bay,” both scored big in their first seasons.
Book review: A biography of famed biologist George Schaller showcases his Alaska roots
While his work took him around the globe, some of Schaller’s earliest and most vital work came in the Far North.
How Taylor Swift pulled off the wedding she wants us to see
News of the closest thing America has to a royal wedding was both everywhere and unknowable.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are married in elaborate Madison Square Garden ceremony
Fans gathered outside MSG in the heat, eager to witness the occasion, though it was mostly hidden.
Victor Willis, who co-founded the Village People and co-wrote ‘Y.M.C.A.,’ dies at 74
Willis was a musician-actor who, among other things, had appeared on Broadway in “The Wiz” when he decided to cash in on the disco craze in 1977 by joining the Village People.
5 things to do in Anchorage this weekend
There are plenty of fun Fourth of July events, plus Forest Fair and First Friday.
Book review: New history examines the dawn and development of Alaska’s most famous trail
Helen Hegener’s new book is a detailed history of the Iditarod Trail, documenting its tangible and intangible impacts to the state.
New restrictions are coming to concerts in Hope after years of pushback from residents
The owner of Creekbend Co. has agreed to rules for parking, sound limits and non-music weekends, part of a compromise in a yearslong saga for Hope residents.