Golden Days Fairbanks Alaska 2008

The Golden Days Celebration in Fairbanks comes along every July when the days are long and the summer warm.

The Golden Days Street Fair is in the downtown area. They blocked off a section of downtown and it was like one big street party with people everywhere. There was lots of food, things to buy and games for the little ones.

Fairbanks claims that the Grand Parade is the largest parade in Alaska. I was frankly surprised that anyone was watching it because in my opinion it seemed like everyone that lived in Fairbanks was in the parade! The claim they have over 100 entries which I certainly believe as we watched for over an hour with no end in sight. There were old cars, school pep groups, clowns, dogs, non-profit groups, a military band and of course the fire engines.

The highlight of the weekend is the Rubber Duckie Race. They number 6,000 rubber duckies, sell numbered tickets, and on race day, set those large yellow duckies loose on the Chena River. They float downstream, round a curve, and finally make the finish line at the Golden Heart Plaza just at the Cushman Street Bridge. There was cheering and yelling as people gathered along side the river and on the bridges just to catch a glimpse of the duckies as they made their way down river.

I have to admit that got caught up in it all the excitement. I had purchased a couple of tickets and we actually found a place along the river bank where we would have a good view of them coming around the bend.