Parking upgrades and new food stops: Here’s what to expect at the Alaska State Fair
The Alaska State Fair is scheduled to open at 11 a.m. Friday.
What you need to know:
- The Alaska State Fair opens Friday with new parking options and food vendors, expanded grandstand seating and new restrooms.
- No fireworks show or parade is scheduled.
- Organizers expect this year’s fair to draw record crowds. Advance tickets are available online through Thursday. The fair opens for the season at 11 a.m. Friday and runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Monday until Sept. 1. It is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
The Alaska State Fair opens Friday in Palmer with new features, food and fun to welcome what organizers expect to be record crowds, the fair’s top official said this week.
Gates open for the annual event at 11 a.m. Friday. The fair then runs from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Monday until Sept. 1, but is closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
New this year, visitors can reserve parking in advance for a fee, Alaska State Fair CEO Jeff Curtis told members of the Susitna Rotary Club during a meeting Wednesday.
About 120 premium spots across the fair’s four main parking areas will be available for online reservation starting Thursday, he said. The option may be especially attractive to concertgoers who tend to arrive later in the day and often face long parking lines or a lengthy walk to the gate.
Reserved spots cost about $35 per day and are available only through the State Fair’s website. All other parking remains free in the three main lots and one overflow area, Curtis said.
About 374,000 people attended the fair last year, a 5% increase over 2023, he said. His team expects attendance this year to set a new record, he said.
This year’s fair will also feature four new food trucks that may already be familiar to Mat-Su residents: BruceSkis Turkish Cuisine, Nonkie Be’s Cajun Faves, Oh My Monte, Wisconsin Cheese Curds, and Pizza Cone Express and Croffles.
The fair typically accepts only one new food vendor each year due to space limitations and high vendor return rates, Curtis said. This year, officials shifted booths to create additional space.
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The fairgrounds will also debut a new heated events building along the Purple Trail, ready just in time for Friday’s opening. The 8,300-square-foot building includes a bathroom facility, a water bottle refill station, and a nursing mothers’ room — all firsts for that area of the grounds — along with the fair’s first-ever adult special needs changing room.
“Literally, I’ve seen caregivers have to leave,” Curtis said. “It’s super sad — they’ve had to leave the fair because we didn’t have a place to accommodate their needs.”
Officials also expanded the grandstand near the Yellow Gate by 700 seats, increasing total capacity to 2,700. The move should make it easier for visitors to get tickets to the fair’s four monster truck shows, which often sell out well in advance, he said.
The fair will also host a lineup of big-name performers this year, including “Weird Al” Yankovic, The Beach Boys, and David Spade. Tickets remained available for most shows as of Thursday morning.
No fireworks show is scheduled this year, Curtis said. The State Fair parade will also not return after low attendance made last year its final run, he said.
Regular gate prices are $19 for adults and $14 for seniors and youth. Several discount days are planned throughout the event. Children 5 and under get in free.
Advance fair admission tickets are available online through Thursday. Season passes are $96 for adults and $66 for seniors or youth 13 and older. Six-packs of adult tickets are $79; senior and youth six-packs are $47. Four-packs are $57 for adults and $37 for seniors and youth. One-day advance tickets are $16.50 for adults and $9.50 for seniors and youth.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com