(Ketchikan totems; photo courtesy SWSHS)

Something fun to start off your evening tomorrow – from Clay Eals at the Southwest Seattle Historical Society:

​What do our area’s beloved totem poles, Duke’s chowder, New Orleans-style dessert “snoballs” and the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition have in common?

Come to the “Birthplace of Seattle” Log House Museum for a FREE reception at 6 tomorrow (Thursday, June 11) to find out!

Want a hint? Check out this six-minute segment from the Monday’s “New Day Northwest” show on KING-TV.

​The Southwest Seattle Historical Society is offering a FREE reception at its museum from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 11, to provide information about — and a taste of — what participants on its seven-day benefit Alaska Totem Cruise will experience this September.

Featured will be an illustrated talk by Dan Kerlee, Seattle expert on the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition and the 1911-1914 Golden Potlatch (forerunner of Seafair), both of which presented Northwest Coastal Indian art and culture.

Kerlee will present programs aboard the Alaska Totem Cruise, set for Sept. 19-26, sailing from Seattle and visiting ​Juneau, Glacier Bay, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria.

Also aboard and providing cooking demonstrations will be Duke Moscrip and Chef “Wild Bill” Raniger of Duke’s Chowder Houses, sponsor of the cruise.

At the Thursday evening reception, Duke’s chowder will be served as well as a New Orleans-style dessert, “Seattle Snoballs.”

Of course, at the reception people can sign up for the cruise with just a $10 deposit. From each booking, $25 will go to the Southwest Seattle Historical Society.