Bluegrass festival, barter fair to christen new Willow amphitheater

WILLOW — Scot Dunnachie has a big dream for a 70-acre parcel of property off Sockeye Avenue.

Next weekend people will get a sneak peak at Dunnachie’s dream when the Denali View Amphitheater, Mile 77.5, Parks Highway, hosts the Kashwitna Barter Fair and Bluegrass Festival Aug. 7-9.

There’s a lot to do to prepare for the first-time festival.

Using an excavator and gravel from his property, Dunnachie is carving a two-lane, half-mile long road through the trees to the Susitna River. The stage will be located here where the property features a view of the mountains and the river below.

Dirt and tree-covered gravel hills ring the site on the other three sides, creating a natural amphitheater in a 5 to 10 acre area that will enhance sound for festival goers and hold the sound waves back from adjacent neighbors, according to Dunnachie.

“We want to be safe and friendly to our neighbors,” he said.

He purchased the property in June after a decade of exploring Southcentral Alaska in search of a natural amphitheater that he could build upon, he said.

A couple of weeks after moving to Willow, the Sockeye fire started in his subdivision and burned about a fifth of the trees on his land, but spared the house. Firefighters spent a couple of weeks camped in the yard while they worked the fire.

Dunnachie said his long-term plan for Denali View is modeled on the Gorge Amphitheatre — a 27,500-seat outdoor concert venue overlooking the Columbia River in George, Washington.

While Alaska has other festival sites, it has no real amphitheaters, he said.

“The sound really is different in an amphitheater,” he said.

The idea is to set up the festival area on a square, ringed by a two-lane road. Parking will be in the center and campsites will be created around the outside of the circle in the trees. Space will also be available for RV parking, he said.

Dunnachie said using timber and gravel resources onsite and a small timber mill, also on site, will help reduce construction costs for his 20-year plan to add camping and cabins for as many as 10,000 campers. By the end of 2016, he said he plans to have space for 2,000 to camp.

Some of that timber will be used for the stage and more will be used to build cabins to house 50 guests. That’s the magic number of rooms a business needs to have in order to qualify for a hotel liquor license, Dunnachie said.

He is no stranger to organizing events or concert promotion. Dunnachie organized a popular series of shows at the Alaska State Fairgrounds from 1999-2003, as well as organizing a long-running series of teen dances at the Alano Club in Spenard.

His dream is to see the site become a popular destination for dining, family outings, fishing tours, sled dog rides, kids playground, and live music. Dunnachie said he’s creating an amphitheater that can hold 5,000 people because that’s the size of crowd it takes to foot the bill for big name performers such as Willie Nelson.

“This is what you want. If you are a performer, you want to see your show in an amphitheater, not the Sullivan Arena,” he said referring to the Sullivan’s persistent sound issues.

The Bluegrass festival and barter fair are the only event at Denali View this summer, he said. But he expects to open full-time in summer 2016.

In the run up to the first barter fair, Dunnachie said he’s had a lot of questions from people about the nature of the event.

“Cash still works,” Dunnachie said.

But vendors — if you want to be a vendor, show up and he will put you in the vendor area — also must be willing to barter with customers who propose a fair trade, he said. Booth space is free.

Attendance at the first event is expected to be light, Dunnachie said. As such, he’s limited food sales to his own Quickie Burger food truck. He owns Quickie Burger and a tobacco store in Anchorage, too.

Advance tickets are $40 for a weekend pass and $50 at the gate. Purchase tickets online, at bit.ly/1dI9VEW.

To get to Denali View Amphitheater, follow the Parks Highway to Mile 77.5. Turn left on Sockeye Avenue and follow it to Landlocked Avenue. Turn right on Landlocked and stay on the road until you reach the festival site at the end of the road.

“This is what I’ve wanted to do since I came here in 1998,” Dunnachie said.

Bluegrass festival 2015 lineup

Aug. 7

5 p.m. Reverend Poor Child

6 p.m. John Dykstra

7 p.m. Backwoods Revolution

8 p.m. The Jeffriess (acoustic Bluegrass set)

9 p.m. JR Hamaker and the Red Handed

10 p.m. Denali Cooks

11 p.m. Winterland

12 a.m. Sport -N- Woodies Tribute Jam — A tribute to Eddy Lee, Anyone who knew Eddy and/or knows his music is welcome to sit in.

Aug. 8

9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Kids Festival Time — Singalongs and child entertainers take the stage for some good old family fun.

2 p.m. Lauren Somers Heyano

3 p.m. Deb Wessler and Cabin Creek

4 p.m. Rick Brooks

5 p.m. John Cook

6 p.m. Eternal Cowboys

7 p.m. Sasparilla

8 p.m. 2 Cent An Acre

9 p.m. Tanana Rafters

10 p.m. Icky Nicki and Friends

11:30 p.m. Green Tara’s All Time Honkey Tonk Smorgesbord

1 p.m. Live Fire Performances by the AK FIRE CIRCUS

Aug. 9

1 p.m. Tatiana Siobhan Agnew

2 p.m. Larry Zarella

3 p.m. Miss Toni Rae

4 p.m. Saucy Yoda

5 p.m. Valley Refuse

6 p.m. Open Jam

For more information, visit alaskabarterfair.com.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.