Colony Days 2025-The Return of the Grotto Lunker

Visitors could not have asked for a more beautiful backdrop annual Colony Days in Palmer over the weekend as sunny skies and warm temperatures prevailed over the festivities, marking the 90th annual celebration that began in 1936, after the Matanuska Colony was founded, when 203 families were relocated as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. The residents of the agricultural Matanuska Colony wanted to celebrate surviving the winter in 1936 and did so with a festival. The early-summer festival soon took on the name “grotto lunker festival.”

This year marked the return of the legendary Grotto Lunker, the mythical and often elusive creature that is often driven away by the fun to be had. “He’s been trying to ruin fun for decades,” said Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Kelley Shoemake ahead of the festivities.

Some reported sightings of the Grotto Lunker, though none could be verified. It is assumed he returned to his cavern in Hatcher Pass.

Hosted by the GPCC, the three-day festival featured a wide variety of free family friendly events and activities that visitors have come to know and love, such as the Outdoor Vendor Market, with a variety of Alaska-made products, food trucks, and more; the popular Community Bed Races; the Colony Days Car Show, featuring classic, antique, and hotrod cars; and of course, the always-popular annual Colony Days Parade.

This year’s parade featured over 60 entries, floats honoring and remembering the founding Matanuska Colony families and Palmer’s agricultural history. Other entries included the Palmer Lions, Mat-Su College and the Alaska State Fair Cabbage Fairies.

Colony Days is an annual event cherished by many community members, bring thousands to the Palmer community to celebrate Palmer's history as an agricultural colony that eventually evolved into the vivacious city it is today.