Canoes launch from Petersburg on Journey to Celebration

Pullers in Petersburg’s kéet yaakw, or killer whale canoe, paddle out of South Harbor during the inaugural launch on May 24, 2026. (Olivia Rose/KFSK)
A group of canoes from several different communities embarked from Petersburg on May 24 to paddle together to Juneau, camping and visiting villages along the way. It’s a tradition known as Journey.
Kéet yaakw — a hand-painted, 39-foot, Tlingit-style fiberglass canoe — is Petersburg’s first in ov