Wasilla High School hosts annual Gun and Outdoor Show

WASILLA — The 2022 Wasilla High School Hockey Booster Club Gun and Outdoor Show went off without a hitch over the weekend.

This longstanding tradition spans nearly four decades and serves as an annual fundraiser for the WHS Hockey Booster Club.

According to head coach Jake Dargis, there were more vendors signed up this year than in previous years with plenty of local products to browse through. He said that Sunday was slower than Saturday, but the event was an overall success.

“It was a good year,” Dargis said.

WHS hockey players helped vendors load and unload materials for their booths before and after the show. Dargis said it’s great exposure for the players to acquire social and work skills by interacting with adults from the community.

“The kids did really well,” Dargis said. “That’s kind of what makes this one special, the involvement from the kids.

Dargis said that he was a part of the gun show when he was in high school, and there are plenty of current students whose parents participated in the event when they were teens as well. He said it’s a popular event that draws people from all corners of the Valley to downtown Wasilla.

“It’s just always been the way our hockey programs been funded and it’s a pretty cool weekend,” Dargis said. “I just love how it brings different parts of the community together.”

Local Marine veteran and longtime gun vendor Roy Hartz said the WHS gun show is one of his favorite gun and outdoor events in the Valley, and he’s only missed one year. Between the helpful students assisting vendors with their wares and the abundance of pleasant interactions around every corner, he looks forward to it every year.

“The people are nice and the people are friendly and that goes a long way,” Hartz said. “This is one of the places you can have to be a sanctuary.”

Hartz lives in Palmer and attends most of the gun and outdoor shows throughout the year. He said that he made a fair amount of sales this weekend, but he doesn’t come to these events for the money. It’s more about having fun, getting to catch up with old friends, and meeting plenty of new people.

“It’s a way to get out and see your friends,” Hartz said. “When they quit being fun, I won’t do them anymore.”

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