The 50th Annual Rainball Tournament is happening July 24–27, 2025 in Juneau, AK. Games will be played at both Dimond Park and on the new turf field at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park. This is a coed, men's, and women's tournament that sees both local and travel teams from Southeast Alaska and beyond. This year’s tournament is packed with special events to mark the big 5-0. They’re bringing back the homerun derby, offering exclusive 50th Rainball merch, and throwing parties at Squirez and the Vintage Food Truck Park. We can also expect player giveaways, community collaborations (keep an eye out for another announcement), a 50/50 raffle, and more.

07/16/25 is National Hot Dog Day and to celebrate and create community- Juneau’s 4 Rotary clubs will be coming together at Riverside Rotary Park today from 5-7 to serve hot dog meals for free! Steve and Michelle Strickler, from the Glacier Valley Rotary Club speak on the event all things Rotary Club.

The Juneau marathon and half marathon is coming up July 26th. Register here, Juneau Trail & Road Runners (JTRR) (formally known as Southeast Road Runners - SERR) is a group of dedicated individuals who take advantage of the fantastic natural setting available in Juneau, Alaska to achieve a healthy and positive lifestyle through running. The club strives to represent the entire Juneau running community, young and old, recreational and serious, by organizing races and group runs suitable for a wide spectrum of abilities.

JTRR promotes running by being a peer group, a sounding board, and a central planning center for running 12 months of the year. Running is fun for JTRR members, and we strive to create an invigorating atmosphere that provides goals to keep us motivated year-round.

Mom’s Unhinged standup comedy show is returning to the Centennial Hall Convention Center on July 19th!

Created by standup comic Andrea Marie, who will be chatting with us on Capital Chat- Moms Unhinged is a night of standup comedy by and for moms (and the occasional dad), joking about everything from potty training to sex talks. This hilarious show, featuring many nationally-acclaimed comics, has been selling out 15+ shows per month nationwide in metro areas including Denver, Chicago, and Seattle.

It comes at the perfect time, given the stress many moms are experiencing right now. In addition to the surgeon general's recent parental mental health advisory, according to statistics, nearly 80% of Americans are anxious about inflation and more than 50% are stressed about politics. While Moms Unhinged can't fix everything, it can certainly offer some much-needed comic relief. Tickets here.

Executive Director of the new Civic Center initiative Bob Banghart joins Capital Chat to share the progress of the design and construction of the new Capital Civic Center: (previously the JACC)

Dramatically framed by the mountains and the sea, the City & Borough of Juneau’s proposed Capital Civic Center will become the focal point for artistic expression in the Capital City.

Located downhill from the Alaska State Legislature and Capitol, it will provide one of the first impressions of Alaska to more than one million visitors a year as they approach Juneau by sea.

The Capital Civic Center is in the heart of Juneau’s emerging Aak’w Village District, within walking distance of the Andrew P. Kashavaroff State Library, Archives and Museum, the iconic Walter Soboleff Building, KTOO Public Media Center, the Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall and Tlingit & Haida tribal headquarters, and the Sea Walk, connecting all of downtown Juneau with a lifesize bronze whale sculpture.l

The CBJ Assembly approved $2 million for the next phase of the design that would combine a renovated Centennial Hall with a new arts and culture center. Initial design plans include:

A 299-seat theater

A visual arts gallery

A community hall

An event studio for smaller productions

A small café and gift shop

A seminar room for classes and workshops

Renovated convention and conference rooms

The design features a spacious lobby area/reception hall to welcome visitors, provide for ticket sales and be a gathering place for many functions. Flowing from the lobby is the gift shop – a venue for sales by local artists – a café, and a state-of-the-art gallery.

Latest news: On June 26, 2025, Sean Boily of Northwind Architects and Bob Banghart, executive director of the Capital Civic Center Partnership, signed the contract to begin design work on the project, with 35% schematic design scheduled by fall, proceeding to 65% design development by mid-winter, and then to 100% by mid-summer 2026, with construction to follow as soon as possible as funding comes in.

(Chili Pepper the dog in full support)

Background

The Partnership, Inc and City & Borough of Juneau (CBJ) have entered into a Memo of Agreement (MOA) defining the phases of design process, project management structure and funding commitments to complete design of the addition to Centennial Hall. The original architectural team is under contract for the project. The complex will be known as the Capital Civic Center and will feature the same programing components offered in the prior stand alone building design.

Current Effort

Evergreen Economics is under contract to produce the proforma needed for developing operational cost models and income models at 35% of design document completion.

The Partnership and Northwind will be reaching out to users of the current facilities (Juneau Arts & Culture Center & Centennial Hall) to review expectations and potential needs in order to ratify the new building design as the project progresses.

The 35% and 65% of design document development are significant milestones on the path to full construction documents for the facility. Throughout the pending design phases the Partnership, Northwind and CBJ will be working together to insure the facility provides the programming community users have identified as essential and that the project stays within the defined budget.

Clint Farr joins Capital Chat to talk about this Friday's Family Fun Fair.

The Alaska State Museum was established on June 6, 1900, when an Act of Congress created the Historical Library and Museum for the District of Alaska. The purpose of the Museum was to collect, preserve and exhibit objects from the territory. Although the collection of artifacts and volumes grew rapidly, a permanent place to house and display materials was not found for 20 years. Initially, the collection was originally stored wherever space could be found, with no provision made for public access. In 1920, the collection of the Alaska Historical Museum was made available to the public in the Arctic Brotherhood Building in Juneau. In 1923, the Territory assumed responsibility for Museum operations and the Museum continued to acquire and display important historical objects, and also developed research, tour guide programs, and educational activities. By the mid-1940s, the collection had outgrown its space and the Museum could no longer adequately store and display its materials.

Finally, in 1967, in honor of the centennial of the purchase of Alaska from Russia, the citizens of Juneau implemented a one percent sales tax to help fund the building of the current museum facility. Juneau subsequently turned over ownership and governance of the Museum to the State of Alaska. Since that time, the Museum's collections have grown from 5,500 to 27,000 objects. The Alaska State Museum was accredited by the American Association of Museums in 1975 and was re-accredited in 1987, and again in 2001.

Ellen Cook and Karen Rehfeld join Capital Chat to share the vision of Philanthropic Education Organization and their upcoming Wildlife tour fundraiser July 17th. The P.E.O. Sisterhood is a U.S.-based international women's organization of about 197,000 members, with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. The Sisterhood is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, with chapters throughout the United States and Canada.