Wasilla hockey program hosting 40th anniversary gun show

The 40th Annual Wasilla High School Gun and Outdoor Show will be held Jan. 18 and 19 to support the Wasilla Warrior Hockey Team. Over 200 vendors will be selling firearms, ammunition, fishing gear, food and much more. This is the hockey team’s only fundraising event of the year.

“The funds that are raised from this gun show help pay the majority of our players’ ice bills,” Vendor Coordinator Kendra Johnson said. “It helps them with their costs of buses for traveling to out-of-town games and their lodging.”

Doors are open on Sat. from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on Sun. from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The first 200 people to walk in the door each day are entered to win a $300 gift card to Sportsman’s Warehouse. Entrance fees are $8 per person and children six and under are free.

The Mat-Su Ravens Girls High School Hockey Team will host food vending at the event to raise funds for their team. Other food vendors will be selling desserts and Grandma Wei’s Homemade Dumplings will have meal options available.

Hockey team members will be walking the floor of the event selling 50/50 split the pot tickets. Drawings will happen three times per day. Half of the raffle proceeds go to the hockey team and the other half will go to the winners.

Misty Holler, an art teacher at Wasilla High School and former event coordinator for the gun and outdoor show, said this event not only raises funds for the hockey teams, it also teaches students the skills to work for their funding.

“The kids work really hard,” Holler said. “Not only are they learning a skill, but they are working towards something. It’s not going around asking for donations, it's putting in an effort to be part of their sport. They're earning it.”

There is something for the whole family at this year’s event, Johnson said. Some vendors are new this year and some have been attending the event for over 30 years. She said they plan on having a large turnout this year with all of the advertising the team has been doing on social media, radio and in local newspapers.

This is one of the only events in the state where vendors can sell firearms in a high school. This interesting dichotomy has been going on now for four decades. Johnson said that organizers work hard to have the right permits, licenses and insurance to keep this critical fundraising event going year after year.

“It is so Alaskan,” Johnson said. “We love it.”

Holler emphasized how important this kind of event is for all those involved.

“I think it's really a community event that celebrates our way of life in Alaska,” Holler said. “It’s not just about buying and selling guns; it’s really about celebrating our culture.”