This episode won several awards: Peabody Award for 'creating a show about people of diverse backgrounds and experiences striving to accept their differences and co-exist in the community', 3 Creative Arts Emmy Awards: one for Cinematography to Frank Prinzi, one for Art Direction (to set decorator Gene Serdena, production designer Woody Crocker and art director Kenneth Berg) and one for Editing to Thomas R. Moore, and Directors Guild of America Award (1993) for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Show.
"Pidgeons on the grass, alas" is from the libretto of "Four Saints in Three Acts", written by Gertrude Stein in 1927.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer, widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature.
The stage backdrop when Cicely dances is inspired by (if not directly copied from) the artwork of Czech artist Alphonse Mucha, who created many stylized illustrations during the Art Nouveau period. Mucha lived in Paris during this period. He created many posters featuring the actress Sarah Bernhardt and other women models. Cicely and Roslyn wanted to make the small Alaska town into the "Paris of the North."