Food, fun and history converge at Wasilla Centennial Block Party

WASILLA — Saturday, May 20, 2017, in downtown Wasilla, resting within the historical district was the Wasilla Centennial Block Party. Founded in 1917 as a “tent city,” Wasilla is celebrating 100 years of existence. The city has been, and will continue celebrating with a different event each month.

Multiple vendors set up booths and food trucks served pulled pork and cotton candy. Excel Gymnastics had demonstrations on the fresh summer grass. The radio station Q99.7 set the soundtrack and wiith the weather fair, a crowd of locals circulated the small venue tucked between the Grape Tap restaurant and the Wasilla Museum and Visitor Center (formerly the Dorothy Page Museum).

“There’s a lot of history here. We’re trying to get people to come out and enjoy the sunshine, celebrate Wasilla’s history,” said Bethany Buckingham-Follett, curator of the Wasilla Museum Visitor Center. According to Buckingham-Follett, May of 1917 is when the railroad was finished in Wasilla, so May is the “actual birthday month.”

Next month is yet another celebration event, called Community Night, taking place at the museum. Members of the community are asked to stop in and share their piece of history, adding to the collective archive of the city for future generations to reflect on.

“Any stories you have of Wasilla — even if it’s from the 80’s or even 90’s —we’d love to have people come and tell their story of why they moved here, what’s changed since they moved here,” Buckingham Follett said.

Buckingham Follett said there will be experts from the Anchorage archives helping them scan and make copies of photos brought in. Guests would get their original and a copy in exchange for allowing the museum to have a copy to add to its exhibit. She insists even if you have moved here as recently as 2005, you will have evidence that a lot has changed in just 12 years.

“We’re inviting members both old and new. We would love to have their photos, I would love to see those photos and see that history and be able to preserve it so that we can have better exhibits for our visitors,” Buckingham Follett said.

The winner of the Wasilla Woof Centennial Pet Photography contest, an Australian blue heeler known as Mighty Mite, was also at the block party and will be at future centennial events to include the 4th of July Parade and Picnic, Centennial Old Town Autumn Fest in October and the Wasilla Centennial Community Christmas Celebration in December. For more information, visit www.cityofwasilla.com/departments/wasillacentennial