Gun show organizers aim for large turnout at Wasilla High

By MATT TUNSETH

Frontiersman.com

WASILLA — One of the largest and longest-running gun shows in the Mat-Su is set to go off this weekend at Wasilla High School.

A fundraiser for the school’s hockey team, the event is now in its fourth decade, according to WHS Hockey Booster Club president DeKay Bayliffe.

“This is our 32^nd year,” she said in a Wednesday interview.

With the recent talk of tighter gun laws, including a proposal by President Obama to close the so-called “gun show loophole” (which allows for private sales between individuals without a background check) Bayliffe said she thinks turnout could be high.

“We always have a good turnout, but I’m hoping that because of all this talk about guns a lot of people show up,” she said.

Bayliffe said the vast majority of gun sellers at the show are actually commercial sellers, with only about 10 percent private individuals.

“The majority are business owners,” she said.

As has become the norm, she’s expecting plenty of early birds when the show opens at 10 a.m. Saturday.

“On Saturday morning before we open the doors we already have a line that extends past the end of the school,” said Bayliffe, who has been helping with the show for three years.

That’s both because of the high level of interest in the show and the special prizes visitors can win. The first 200 people through the doors on Saturday and Sunday will be entered in a drawing to win a gun. One day it’s a rifle, another it’s a shotgun.

Proceeds from the event go towards hockey team expenditures like ice time, travel and scholarships for players.

Although guns and ammo are the main draw, Bayliffe said organizers have tried to make the event more of an outdoors show. There are vendors of lots of non-gun products, she said, a move that’s designed to attract an even broader spectrum of visitors — especially women.

“It’s hunting and outdoors,” she said. “We’ve expanded it a little bit.”

She said there will be booths selling jewelry, camo purses, children’s outdoor gear and more. There will also be plenty of food by Susan Elwell of J and S Concessions.

“We’ve brought in a little bit more of diverse vendors,” Bayliffe said. “It’s not just guns and knives on every table.”

The event is hugely popular with gun-sellers and outdoors vendors — so much so that Bayliffe said her list of potential vendors is overflowing.

“There’s a waiting list,” she said.

The show runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. Cost is $6 for general admission and free for kids 10 and under. Loaded guns are not allowed inside. For more information, email whsgunshow@gmail.com.

Contact editor Matt Tunseth at 352-2268 or news@frontiersman.com