Wheat Treats
From WWR
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Here lie the local Talkeetna businesses who support Whole Wheat Radio by providing accommodations and services to our listeners and artists. Note that mentioning you are a Wheathead may get you a discount.
Lodging
Fireweed Station Inn
This is one of the finest B&Bs in the Talkeetna area. Definitely upscale and definitely worth every penny. Alaska is filled with lodging options that charge top dollar but have cigarette burns in the carpet and crusty bed covers. Fireweed Station Inn is a refreshing alternative when you're ready to stay somewhere truly special.
All joking aside ... if you're looking for outstanding lodging and food while you're in Talkeetna, this is definitely the place you want to stay. And it is very conveniently located close to the Wheat Palace if you intend to spend a lot of time at Whole Wheat Radio.
Talkeetna Chalet
You're already family at Talkeetna Chalet - it's run by none other than Sweety Wheaty Extraordinaire Chinook! "I offer a variety of full Alaskan breakfasts with a Southern twist. Don't be surprised to see grits on the menu! We have our own chickens for farm fresh eggs. For coffee lovers there is an espresso bar stocked with gourmet coffee and syrups." OMG!
This top-notch B&B is, unfortunately, closed for the 2007 winter season. But Chinook is currently booking for the May thru September 2008 season. So if you're headed to Whole Wheat Radio and are looking for an incredible experience with someone you already know and who can intelligently discuss all the latest WWR gossip then give Chinook a call!
Eye Of Denali Inn
Talkeetna, Alaska's Eye of Denali Inn & Suite is a nonhosted bed & breakfast located on the Susitna River just a mile from “beautiful downtown Talkeetna.” The beautiful log home has a large yard and picnic area with a gorgeous view up the river to Mt. McKinley and the Alaska Range.
A “nonhosted” bed and breakfast allows you the flexibility to keep your own schedule and enjoy your privacy. Coffee and hot & cold breakfast are available for you to prepare at your convenience in our full kitchen. We think you will enjoy our authentic Talkeetna log cabin BandB experience.
Karey Larson, over at Talkeetna Travel, manages this large, convenient and beautiful B&B. Karey is a friend and an active supporter of the Talkeetna music scene. The "EOD" has put up more visiting Whole Wheat Radio artists than any other establishment in town thanks to Karey's generosity.
How Do I Get Listed?
If you are a local Talkeetna/Trapper Creek area business and you'd like to be involved with Whole Wheat Radio -our listeners, visitors, and artists- then here's the deal:
- We have to have some personal experience with either you or your business. We won't list just anyone since there are so many other sites that do that. We have to believe in your vision, your product and your good intentions. And you have to believe in ours ... the Whole Wheat Way Of Being
:-) which is generally fun, creative, competent ... driven by labor-of-love and not necessarily the bottom-line profit. If you think you fit, then by all means stop by the Whole Wheat Palace here on Birch Creek Blvd. and talk to Jim. He doesn't bite ... promise!
Here's what we'd like you provide:
- Some sort of discount/deal for people who identify themselves as "Wheatheads" coming to Talkeetna for some Whole Wheat Radio event. Give our listeners and house concert audience members coming up from Anchorage a reason to want to patronize you. We understand if the discount can only be offered during certain seasons and based on your booking ... we just ask that if a Wheathead contacts you that you attempt to give them a better deal than they might otherwise expect.
- If you provide lodging, let us know if you'd be interested in providing complimentary lodging for our visiting artists. If you are, then when we book an artist, we will contact you with the date and links to find out about the artist. If you are interested in hosting them, write back and we'll put you on a list of available accommodations. We will then send the list back to the artist and let them decide where they'd like to stay.
- If you are an air-taxi or recreational business, we'd love to be able to tell our visiting musicians that you provide either complimentary or heavily discounted rates for them. The reason it all boils down to pinching pennies is because the artists spend a lot of money getting to Alaska and most tours are lucky if they break even. So they generally don't have $150-300 of "mad money" to use for activities. But, given the opportunity, most of them love to spend some time away from the rigors of their on-the-road lifestyle and see exactly what makes this area so appealing. I can't promise they'll write a song about how amazing their experience with you was ... but I can promise they'll never write a song or have a publicity photo taken with you if you don't make it easy for them to meet up with you!
Here's what we provide if you provide complimentary housing/activities for our artists:
- More link love from one of the most prestigious and highly respected websites on the entire internet - us! We will link your site heavily ... on the page where the event is described, in emails sent to several thousand subscribers, in ways you never dreamed existed. The bottom line is that we are internet gods and goddesses so anytime we link to your site, it increases your internet juju exponentially.
- Your business will get a prominent mention in the on stage pre-show introduction and at other appropriate places during the show (intermission and closing).
- If there is a printed program, your business will be recognized as providing housing/activities for the artist and you'll be recognized as a supporter of events happening here at Whole Wheat Radio.
- You will be talked about a lot before, during and after the show on the audio webcast. Our listeners trust us ... so when we tell them that So-And-So is providing the housing for Insert-Your-Favorite-Artist-Here and that we recommend asking for the Insert-Your-Favorite-Artist-Here's Room next time you visit Talkeetna ... well ... they just may actually do it!
- You will be included in any publicity we do for visiting artists. The bottom line is that we'll make sure everyone knows you are cool enough (and smart enough) to trade a night or two's accommodations for a person who may well write a song about you ... while getting a lot of printed, internet and "radio" publicity to boot.
- You and up to 3 guests can come see the show for "free" ... whatever the suggested donation was will be provided either by the artist or by Whole Wheat Radio.
Here's what we provide if you provide a deal to our visiting listeners:
- Love. Lots of love. And everything listed above except not as prominently and perhaps not in print depending on the situation. Listeners sometimes show up at the last minute and therefore we wouldn't know to print you in the program. Besides, unless you're offering full complimentary (which we're definitely not asking for) to listeners, it makes more sense to simply make sure visitors are aware that you offer discounts on the webpage and on-air. In other words, offering discounts to Wheatheads results in "When coming to WWR, So-And-So is a great place to stay and offers Wheathead discounts" rather than "Four members of tonight's audience are staying at So-And-So who we'd like to thank for providing such generous accommodations."
Capiche? If not, just talk to Jim and I'm sure we can work something out you're happy with. And if you are a local artist or musician or writer or have some enterprise which doesn't fit the above outline ... but you'd still like to support what we do here and would like support in return ... please just talk to Jim! He really wants to support small local businesses while at the same time letting listeners and artists get an honest-to-goodness "off the bus" experience. Thanks!
