Palmer is the Gift that Keeps on Giving

Palmer is the Best Gift Ever—This is the big season of gifts and our little mountain town just doesn’t quit giving. It may only take an hour to walk from one end to the other, on main street, but in that length of time you can experience exponential diversity—if you look for it. Quirkiness and tradition mix well together in Palmer, Alaska, along with generosity.

Crazy Combination—Harp and Hip Hop was the incredible mixup on Friday night, at the Palmer Train Depot. No one knew quite what to expect but the gift of the evening was the remarkable performance by Kuf Knotz and harpist Christine Elise. Local artist, Devon Shaw, who is also known as “D, the Lyricist” also performed well.

More New and Old Events—The Palmer Arts Council has made a commitment to bring more local musicians, paired with national artists, to Palmer. Interesting monthly music will include ska, orchestral, reggae and wider ranges. Visual Art events are happening all over town, including the Palmer Renaissance Sundays. Literary happenings are regular opportunities in conjunction with Fireside Book Store, Untold Stories, and the Palmer Library and Museum.

In This Town You’ll See Passion and Patience—You will see a whole crowd of merry carolers, piled in the back of a pick-up truck, singing their hearts out, as they drive slowly up and down the streets of Palmer. This is a town where the “Four-Way Stop Light” is a continuing lesson in cooperation and grace. This is a town that doesn’t regard honking as polite, unless for safety reasons.

This is a Town for Something for Everyone—In Palmer you can buy a hot chocolate and go get hot waxed. You can buy a local water and have a massage. You can buy a hand made kuspuk, get a cup of tea, and get your nails done. You can go to the Kombuchery (at the old Hartley Motors Building) after taking your drivers’ license at the State Office Building.

You can get a latte and then get a tattoo. It is all available and all in walking distance. You may wear dreadlocks or you may wear a truck hat in this town but you are always part of the place.

Yoga in the Green and Sometimes with Goats—Yoga shows up all over town and sometimes with baby goats. A number of Yoga studios are available plus there are meditation salons, gyms and chiropractors, including massage opportunities. hair designers and nails and massages, gyms and chiropractors. Dance and drumming events are also part of Palmer’s rhythmic network of services.

In This Town Quirky Reigns—You will see the reestablished outdoors Drive-In Movies at the Alaska Picker, in the middle of winter. You can join in a pool party at the local high school, when Humdinger’s Pizza puts up the big screen up over the swimming pool and plays the movie, JAWS for all the swimmers.

Monuments—Palmer has many overlooked small monuments. There is the lovely stone sculpture in the green, documenting the original colonists. There is the beautiful abstract metal sculpture, in front of the Charter School, remembering a teenager lost to violence. There are dog sculptures, metal musk ox monuments, directional monuments, old truck monuments and of course our favorite— the Palmer Water Tower. Hopefully, more monuments are in the making.

A Town for Committed Groups—We have the kite flyers. The Knitters. The Bikers. The fat bike folks. The dance walkers. The farmers. The writers. The artists. The Moose. The bluegrass band. The paper crane makers. The square dancers. The drone operators. The Nativity enthusiasts. The bakers. The Food Swappers. The Lions. The Girl-scouts. The Runners. The Historians. The Gardeners. Nearly every hobby, under the sun, has a group which meets in Palmer.

In This Town—Cabbage is King. Veggies are jewels and there are many different flower gardens, food gardens, agricultural showcase, and an even an old, renovated arboretum. Farm tours, farm dinners, farm dances and farm weddings are all part of the appreciation of growing food locally.

This is a Town of choices— In downtown Palmer you can get your car fixed on main street or get your car washed. You can have Middle Eastern or full-on Italian “fine dining” or simple sandwiches. You can find Pho or fresh squeezed carrot juice. You can eat German on one side of town and Vegan on the other. Cheeseburgers or fresh goat cheese is part of your food choices.

This is a Town of Anomalies—You can purchase the latest in cell phone technology or old fashioned items, resembling historical junk from your great grandparent’s house. There is a lingerie store next to subway sandwiches. There is a tattoo parlor next to the guitar store and the pizzeria.

This is a Town of Curiosities—This is where the local Post Office celebrates with ugly sweaters. This is the town where you will have a birthday dinner and the entire restaurant will sing for you, whether you know them or not. This is the town with three breweries and two museums. You can shop for the latest trendy or shabby design or wander through 1930’s antiques. Shops carry decor from classic to country to stainless to steam punk.

This is a Town of Commitment—You will see civic enthusiasm, faith groups, history clubs, beer aficionados, arts enthusiasts, and ardent sports fans. This is where Sundays see full churches but bars also see full sunday attendance. Sunday afternoons are always full of fiddle players at Vagabonds Coffee House and artists at the Palmer Downtown Deli or Level Seven Community Spiritual Center.

This is a Town of Transparency—If you shoplift, within one hour everyone will know your name and have seen your picture. If you have a fender-bender everyone will know in short order. If you are a public servant, you will be consulted in the cereal aisle of the grocery store.

This is a Town of Ownership—Palmer is a town we’re proud to be from. Whether your Uncle was born here or if you moved here last month, we like to claim ownership. This is the kind of town people want as their own. Because it isn’t homogenized. Because it has something for everyone. Because it is inclusive of different viewpoints. Because, for the most part, it is tolerant. This is the kind of town people dream of—where people are kind and cars don’t honk. This is the kind of town where the police are friendly— but serious.

Palmer has a Wonderfully Weird Sense of Culture—You won’t find fancy dresses matched up with heels but you might find heels matched with ski skirts or fancy dresses matched mud boots. This unusual mixed flair is part of our culture. Museum History Shows mixed with Musk Ox Farm picnics are matched with Antique Cars and new dance moves. There is whimsey and unconventionality in our town of Palmer and this is its’ gift to everyone.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff on the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net