That time of year

WASILLA — It’s no longer a secret: spring is definitely in the air in the Mat-Su Valley.

Longer days, dry roads and plenty of sunshine means outdoors enthusiasts are itching to get out and get active, and there’s few places more suited to get ready for summer than the Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show this weekend at the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex.

This year’s third-annual show will be the first of its kind in the state this year, falling a week ahead of the Great Alaska Sportsman Show in Anchorage.

“And you don’t have to drive into the city,” show organizer Tony Russ said Monday.

Russ said this year’s show is the largest in the event’s three-year history, with 102 vendors and close to 30 seminars planned over the weekend. Cost is $4 for adults, and children and military personnel get in free. For the first time, parking is free as well.

Parking has been a concern in the past, as the show has coincided with the Mat-Su Home Show, meaning parking space was limited. That’s not the case this year, with the home show not scheduled until mid-April.

“There will be no problem with parking,” Russ said.

`Russ said roughly two thirds of this year’s vendors are Mat-Su businesses, with the majority of the rest coming from elsewhere in Alaska.

“It’s a Valley show,” he said.

In addition to vendors hawking everything from fishing gear to food and beverages, Russ said seminars will include demonstrations on bow hunting, muzzle loading, predator calling, moose hunting and more. Seminars will be held in the two conference rooms at the sports center and are scheduled to run nearly non-stop through the weekend.

A complete schedule of events can be found online at www.chinookshows.com as well as in a special insert in today’s Frontiersman.

Doors open at noon Friday and stay open until 8 p.m. The show is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

As an added bonus, Russ said anyone who shows up at the gates between 10 a.m. and noon on Sunday will be getting some special treatment thanks to the UPS Store.

“Everyone gets in free during that time.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com