Alaska State Fair

You know that when the State Fair is in session, everything changes. Traffic patterns, shopping habits, bedtime hours, weekend plans, errands and destinations are but a few of the altered plans when the Fair is in town. And it is more than okay. It teaches us the value of being a destination for several weeks. We see the excitement and the chaos and the inconvenience and the noise and the hubbub. We see it all. And most of us rejoice in its’ presence. And when the fair leaves, we are also grateful. It’s a wonderful thing and by all means enjoy it while it is here.

Different World—Visit the Cirque Ma’Ceo in the big white round tent on the Yellow Trail. This is a new world at the fair and it definitely makes you forget you are still in Palmer Alaska. It’s kind of like a dramatic circus with beautiful people, magnificent horses, a “Game of Thrones” soundtrack, wonderful acoustics, spectral lighting, high drama and tense theatrics, There are knives and whips and ponies, bows and arrows, leather and ropes, lassos , all under the light of a chandelier. This production is by Cavallo Equestrian Arts and the crowd seemed well pleased. It is a not to miss event!

Being Informed Takes Some Local Patience—There are so many really local activities in and around Palmer. It is hard to keep track of all of them. In the past, I have created the Palmer Alaska Buzz and Palmer Community Calendars for this very reason. That annual enormous calendar effort, although popular and successful, sadly failed repeatedly because of lack of input or info from the event organizers. It’s just difficult to track and announce all the events, changes, venues, in our community. Frankly we do it better than most! There are several places which compile events between local newspapers, websites, and community announcement sites.

The problem with sharing information is the inclusive nature of the organization. Groups think that if everyone within the group knows about an event, then that will easily be shared to many outside the group. It doesn’t happen. Information is shared round and round internally in an echo chamber. If your group wants more involvement, you must move very deliberately outside of the traditional structure.

The other problem is scheduling Palmer events. One needs to know what is ALREADY scheduled before creating a new event. Again, the planned event date may be perfect for your group but will never work to attract others because it is conflict with an already scheduled event. This type of thing hurts both local events…..because the audience is reduced due to the conflict.

If you want to watch national news, go to a national source. If you want to follow state news, go to a state source. If you want to follow local events, you must go to the local sources. (examples: Community Council, Softball organizations, PTA’s, Rock Garden newsletters, Church bulletins, community health press releases, bulletin boards, social medias, city and borough announcements, Girl Scout brochures, Swim Team newsletters) Besides the Palmer Alaska Buzz newspaper column and Facebook page, Palmer local media has a few different outlets, with the Frontiersman being the oldest and long-standing. There is also the People’s Paper, Make A Scene, Mat Su Sentinel, ADN, Big Cabbage Radio, and a few other good sources and some other web sites. It takes a bit of work to coordinate. A simple solution, if you are planning an event, is to ask on the Palmer Buzz, “What events are happening in Palmer on August 18th?” You would be surprised how quickly you will learn the answers! People love to answer questions—so pose questions nicely and take advantage of community knowledge!

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. She is also the creator of the annual Palmer Community Calendar. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222.