The Button Guys; Alaska State Fair staple branching out

PALMER — The owners of an iconic booth from the Alaska State Fair recently participated in their first event of the summer in wake of the 2020 state fair cancellation.

The Button Guys sold over 100 photo buttons during Distinctive Ride’s 10th anniversary celebration, an outdoor event with numerous booths featuring local vendors.

Photographer Ben Buckman said that after the fair was canceled, they received an influx of inquiries to see what they were gonna do

“There’s a lot of people out there who need those photo buttons,” Buckman said. “It’s a rite of passage.”

Randy Fischbach and his brother Johnny recently took over the photo button booth from their father, John. August will mark their 28th year in business.

“He just wanted to start something, just make a business and make it his own. It turned out exactly what he dreamed it’d be,” Fischbach said. “All we’re doing is making people smile.”

While the fair is canceled this year, Fishbach still has plenty of fond memories of working there over the years.

“Working at the fair is like summer camp, hanging out with our friends, working,” Fishbach said. “The fair itself is a tiny little community.”

Fishbach said the cancellation has caused them to think more outside the box when finding places to set up.

“Obviously it’s a hit for a lot of people,” Fishbach said.

The Button Guys plan to be at numerous events across the Valley and Anchorage throughout the summer and perhaps into fall or winter.

“It’s a social experiment for sure,” Buckman said. “We’re gonna go until we say ‘when.’”

Buckman said they’re planning to set up at the Alaska Raceway Park for several events later this month.

“That place is always a good time,” The Button Guys photographer Ian Gallagher said.

Gallagher is the only Valley photographer in the group and the company itself is based out of Anchorage.

Fischbach said they normally do events like the Pirate Pub Crawl in downtown Anchorage after the fair. He said it’s actually kind of nice to mix things up with the fair being canceled.

“We kinda took it as a challenge,” Randy said.

Fischbach said this event in the Distinctive Ride parking lot was a “good test of the waters”. He said it was apparent many local families wanted to get their annual photo buttons and drove over when they heard where the Button Guys would be.

“It’s good to feel appreciated,” Fischbach said.

For more information, see the Button Guys Facebook page.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com