Adventure-seekers will have plenty of adventure to look forward to this year at the annual Alaska State Fair. The event begins on August 21st and will go through September 1st in the lovely city of Palmer, Anchorage. Travel to the utopia of fun where you can explore and adventure a large selection of exclusive shows, exhibits, and activities with locals and out-of-towners.
For a limited amount of time, audiences can get jiggy to acts by Flo Rida, Redhead Express, Bryan White, The Whipsaws, Bachman & Turner with Blue Öyster Cult, and more, or even catch a glimpse of the family from “Duck Dynasty.” If none of the artists performing are your cup of tea, take a stroll through the fairgrounds and enjoy the free acrobatic, rock, and magic shows scattered around.
Unique venues offered to visitors include The Gathering Place and Hoskins Exhibit building. The Gathering Place showcases Alaska Native culture with its displays of drumming, traditional dance, and live music by Jack Dalton and Raven’s Radio Hour and singer Desja Eagle Tail of the Crow Nation. If you want to nosedive into a sea of flowers, then the Hoskins Exhibit building is for you. There, you can visit displays of award-winning giant gladioli, dahlias, beautiful begonias, and other Alaska flowers.
Animals are inherently very mod this year at the fair. Be sure to visit your cuddly (and smelly) barnyard friends at the petting zoo – it’s been a long year since you’ve last said hello! Or if you prefer, take a leap into prehistoric times and adventure with some new, not-so-cuddly friends at the “Age of the Dinosaurs” interactive museum exhibit.
Now let’s get down to business – yes, we’re talking about food. The fair will bust out the yummiest of treats including cotton candy, enormous turkey legs, funnel cake, and deep-fried halibut at its busy stands. Healthier choices like fresh oysters, fruit, veggies, and salmon will also be available to patrons. Fairgoers can even sample traditional Native-inspired bites. Whatever you choose to nibble down, we’re already jealous.
Yet the biggest attraction every year is always King Cabbage. Local farmers from the valley and beyond come together in hopes that they have grown the biggest cabbage around the world; Scott Robb currently sets the record at 138 pounds. Now that’s a whole lot of cabbage.
