Winter carnival the perfect cure for cabin fever

One of the best parts of living in Alaska is the sense of community we get by living in such a small place. Yes, Alaska is the largest state — by far — in the union, but it’s also one of the most sparsely populated, with most of us huddled together in small communities. Heck, even Anchorage isn’t all that big for a major metropolitan area.

While the Mat-Su has been growing by leaps and bounds over the past few decades, the sense that “we’re all in this together” remains part of the social fabric that connects us.

We’ve heard the argument that this sense of community has been fading in recent years, as technology and population growth have combined to lessen the amount of interaction we have with our neighbors. And to some extent, that’s true; after all, nobody would argue the Valley is as tight-knit as it was in the 1930s, when hardy colonists had to band together just to get through the winters.

However, in many ways Alaskans have retained our community spirit, and one such way is through our shared love of wintertime activities. From the Wilderness Woman competition in Talkeetna to the Iron Dog on Big Lake to the Iditarod restart in Willow, Valley residents seem to get especially excited about getting together during the winter months. Maybe it’s just the fact that we’re all feeling a bit cabin feverish, but the Mat-Su clearly knows how to throw a good party this time of year.

One of the best wintertime events of the year is happening over the next two weekends in Willow, which is hosting the 55^th annual Willow State Winter Carnival. Chock full of uniquely Alaskan events (you won’t find too many outhouse races in San Francisco or Paris), the winter carnival is a great chance for Valley residents to spend some time together both indoors and out. There’s going to be food, games, music, sporting events and even rides — what’s more romantic than a wintertime Ferris wheel ride?

We’ve got a complete schedule of carnival events in today’s paper, as well as a preview story about the carnival itself. Things get started Friday, the fun continues over the next two weekends.

We encourage everyone to get out to Willow to check out the carnival. The best part of living in Alaska is getting to see and do things that you can’t experience anywhere else, and this event certainly qualifies. Whether you plan to check out the dog pull competition, the kids’ sled dog race or just grab a cup of hot cocoa, the event should be the perfect cure to remedy any case of cabin fever.