Bristol Bay Fish Expo | MugUp Conversations

Event Keynote Speaker NN Cannery History Project Historian Katie Johnson Ringsmuth PHD will host attendees for a cup of coffee and provide a venue for canned fish stories. The NN Cannery History project is a partnership with Trident Seafoods, the Alaska Association of Historic Preservation and the National Park Service that aims to preserve, document and share the unique experience of cannery life.

This event will host historians, archivists and curators to identify and document stories and artifacts of the rich culture of the canned salmon industry in Bristol Bay. MugUp is a colloquial word for coffee break and is an expression used only in canneries. MugUp fueled cannery workers with caffeine and pastries, provided a respite from the monotony of the slime line and momentarily brought people together from around the world. 

The ongoing MugUp Event will provide a space that celebrates the stories of cannery work. On hand will be:

• Archivists from the National Park Service ready to scan photos, newspaper clipping, food lists, union cards, immigration papers, business records, labels, plats, maps, and old instruction manuals.
• Project curators will be available to photograph artifacts such as tools and equipment, raingear, models, wooden boxes, paintings, and other memorabilia.
• industry veterans and historians will help identify the unknown. 
• Besides cannery conversations focused on history, we will devote time to Cannery Expressions including Art, Prose and Poetry.

The MugUp Community Conversations are meant to include as many different voices, perspectives, and experiences as possible. Please join our Keynote Speaker Katie Johnson Rinsgsmuth at the 2018 Bristol Bay Fish Expo Event for a cup of coffee and share your canned fish stories. 

MugUp is a colloquial word for coffee break and is an expression used only in canneries. MugUp fueled cannery workers with caffeine and pastries, provided a respite from the monotony of the slime line and momentarily brought people together from around the world.