Birds on Parade set to replace Nome’s painted sled dog art

By Sarah Manriquez

The sled dogs are coming down, and birds are about to take their place.

Norton Sound Health Corporation is launching its 2025 community art contest, Birds on Parade, inviting Nome and regional residents to decorate wooden bird cutouts in celebration of wellness, creativity and community pride.

The event, which opens for bird pick-up on July 1 and 2 at the NSHC Operations Building, marks the latest chapter in a growing tradition of animal-themed public art.

“This project started back in 2019 with Seals on Parade,” said Reba Lean, public relations manager at NSHC. “It was inspired by something our CEO Angie Gorn saw in another Alaska community—she came back wanting to create something similar here, something fun that could tie into wellness goals. Since then, we've featured salmon, sled dogs, and now birds.”

The three bird shapes offered this year—a raven, a ptarmigan, and a duck—were designed in-house by NSHC’s returning intern Guadalupe Callahan.
“We wanted a variety,” Lean said. “With sled dogs and salmon, we had different poses, and we liked the idea of recognizable, regionally inspired birds.”

For Callahan, the project is one of the highlights of summer. “It’s very therapeutic,” she said. “And it’s amazing seeing what people create from a blank white cutout—it’s never what I expect.” 

Onehundred and fifty cutouts will be available for Nome residents, with an additional 150 set aside for regional villages including Shismaref, Diomede, Wales, Brevig Mission, Teller, White Mountain, Golovin, Elim, Koyuk, Shaktoolik, Unalakleet, St. Michael, Stebbins, Savoonga and Gambell.

Participants are encouraged to paint or decorate the birds however they choose—paint, fabric, collage, crayon—before submitting them for display and competition.
“If a two-year-old can do it, so can you,” Lean said. “The range of submissions we get is incredible. We’ve seen everything from simple crayon scribbles to culturally inspired regalia carved and glued on.”

Cutouts in Nome must be returned by July 14, and installation will begin shortly after, pending availability of Nome Joint Utility Systems (NJUS), NSHC’s longtime partner in placing the artwork around Nome. The installation will follow a mapped walking route through town, offering the public a chance to engage with the art while completing a wellness challenge. The new map will be released as soon as the final birds are hung—likely by early August.

In the villages, families can request cutouts by filling out an online form before July 1 and cutouts will be sent to their local clinics via Bering Air. While Nome submissions are returned for public display, village residents are encouraged to hang their birds however they see fit—on homes, city buildings, or other community spaces.

As the new bird designs take flight, the sled dogs from last year’s display will be carefully removed. Artists will have the chance to reclaim their pieces—but any unclaimed dogs won’t be left out in the cold. Instead, they’ll find a second life as part of the Nome National Forest, a whimsical holiday display organized by the Nome Rotary Club.

“We let every artist know they’re welcome to pick up their dog cutouts,” Lean explained. “But if they don’t, they’re repurposed into something joyful. My dad, Charlie Lean, helps coordinate the forest each winter, and he’s already asked to give the leftover dogs a home there.”

If you want to check out all the sled dogs one last time before they are taken down and returned to artists, there is an online map worksheet of the sled dogs on parade here: https://www.nortonsoundhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/Sled-Dogs-on-Parade...

Submissions will be judged in both youth and adult categories, with awards for Best Overall, Most Creative, Best Message, and Most Culturally Inspired. The judging panel will likely include NSHC staff and artists, and a People’s Choice award will be determined on social media by Facebook likes.

“Just being seen is powerful,” said Lean. “In a small town, having your creativity celebrated publicly means a lot. This is a space where you can say something hopeful, personal, or silly—and the whole community gets to see it.”

To participate:
Nome pick-up: July 1–2, 12–5 p.m., NSHC Operations Building (K & Greg Kruschek Avenue)

Village requests: bit.ly/village-bird-cutouts by July 1

Submission deadline: July 14 (Nome drop-off); July 14 (regional villages email photo submissions to pr@nshcorp.org)

The dogs may be coming down—but the birds are ready to soar.