6 Best Performing Arts in Fairbanks, the Yukon, and the Interior, Alaska

Alaska's premier cultural gathering takes place over two weeks in late July on the University of Alaska Fairbanks campus. The festivities, which began as a small jazz festival, now attract visitors worldwide for American roots and other music, dance, and literary, healing, visual, and culinary arts. Guests are encouraged to participate in one- or two-week classes and mini-workshops.

A street fair and parade through the city cap several days of events at this July celebration of Fairbanks's gold-rush past.

The theater hosts the Golden Heart Revue, a musical-comedy show about the founding and building of Fairbanks.

This weeklong event in early August is Interior Alaska's largest annual gathering. If you've ever wondered just what a 50-pound cabbage looks like, this fair might be your best chance to find out. You can also peruse the handiwork of local artisans.

An ice-sculpting extravaganza, these competitive events that unfold from late February to late March draw ice artists from around the world.

The early February Yukon Quest calls itself the "toughest sled dog race in the world," passing through historic early-gold-rush territory. In odd-numbered years the 1,000-mile race starts in Whitehorse, in even-numbered ones in Fairbanks. Both the start and finish are festive events, with huge crowds on hand even when the temperatures plunge.