Alaska State Fair Parade receives 'bittersweet’ send-off

The final Alaska State Fair parade was held in downtown Palmer Saturday, Aug. 17.

The theme for this year's ASF Parade was “Enjoy the Ride,” which could be seen as a fitting farewell. This was a chance for the community to come together to enjoy a long held tradition one last time while working up excitement over the 2024 Fair season.

ASF Parade coordinator Sabrena Combs said this event had a notable turnout.

“I think there was a lot of excitement built up for being the last one," Combs said.

Combs has helped organize the ASF Parade for about 14 years. She said that overall attendance and float participation has gone down in recent years and is normally about a fraction of this year's turnout.

“It has definitely dropped off,” Combs said.

Combs also emceed the last ASF Parade, describing each float and group of parade goers. She said it was an enjoyable experience and she will miss this annual community event.

“It's bittersweet. I really enjoyed doing it,” Combs said.

Alaska State Fair CEO Jeff Curtis said they received a lot of positive feedback about the final parade, and it was a “good overall ending to a tradition in Palmer.”

“It's had a great legacy… We are pleased with what took place Saturday morning… We wanted to give that tradition a fantastic send- off,” Curtis said. “I think it was a special, special day in Palmer.”

According to Curtis, one of the major factors that led to the decision to stop holding the ASF Parade was the fact that not enough parade spectators were visiting Palmer businesses as intended. He said one of the main objectives of the parade is to celebrate the Fair's relationship it's host city and they're actively seeking ways to do that in the future.

“We really do want to find a new way to celebrate our great relationship with the city itself,” Curtis said.

The ASF Parade featured a wide variety of floats and parade goers such as local and visiting entertainers, the Cabbage Fairies, the Lumberjack Show, and other people representing the various aspects of the Fair experience in addition to other entities outside the Fairgrounds like the Colong High School marching band.

The Mat-Su Master Gardeners float won the best float category with an eye catching design that featured a custom-built ferris wheel decoration. According to Mat-Su Master Gardeners volunteer Marta Mueller, a lot of time and energy was put into preparing their float for the parade and all that work paid off.

“This ferris wheel kind of took the cake… We knew we had a winner,” Mueller said with a laugh.

Mueller's father Curtis, her mother Marge, and several Master Gardener members participated in the parade. She said they have been a part of the parade numerous times in the past and she was glad they were able to be featured in the last one.

“We had a good time," Mueller said. “This one was a little emotional for all of us.”

For more information about the 2024 Alaska State Fair season, visit alaskastatefair.org.