'It's a win-win:' Palmer, Wasilla chambers promote shopping local with prizes, events

What you need to know:

• Chambers of commerce in Palmer and Wasilla are encouraging residents to shop locally this holiday season by hosting special events that make staying in Mat-Su more appealing than driving to Anchorage.
• The Wasilla Chamber is hosting “Support Local November,” a scavenger hunt-style event that offers prize entries for completing simple tasks at local businesses, along with pop-up events featuring door prizes.
• The Greater Palmer Chamber is running “Shop Palmer” from Nov. 20 to Dec. 18, with weekly and grand prize drawings for shoppers who collect stamps by spending at participating local businesses.

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According to Google Maps, it’s the same distance – 38 highway miles – from either Palmer or Wasilla to the Tikhatnu Commons shopping complex in Anchorage. On a good day, that’s a 40-minute drive. On a good day. And Costco’s even further.

If saving on gas money isn’t enough incentive for Mat-Su residents to shop local this holiday season, the chambers of commerce in both Palmer and Wasilla have decided to sweeten the pot even more. Over the next six weeks, both groups are promoting events designed to make holiday shopping in the Valley even more attractive. 

“It’s a really busy time, but we get to have a lot of fun,” said Wasilla Chamber of Commerce Director Jessica Viera. 

Viera said Wasilla is currently in the midst of its Support Local November effort, a scavenger hunt-style event sponsored by The Children’s Place child advocacy center that runs through the end of the month. Shoppers can stop by any of more than 20 participating businesses to complete a fun and easy task, such as taking a selfie at the business and tagging it on social media. Once a task is complete, shoppers get entered to win. There’s no purchase necessary, just a willingness to participate.

“It’s a low bar, so it doesn’t cost a lot,” Viera said.

Wasilla Chamber’s “Shop Local” also includes six pop-up events at local businesses, complete with door prizes. Upcoming pop-ups in Wasilla include Nov. 24 at Big Dipper Homemade Ice Cream. For a complete schedule of events and rules to the contest, Viera said shoppers can visit the chamber’s website.

Not to be outdone, the folks over in Palmer are gearing up for the Greater Palmer Chamber of Commerce’s annual Shop Palmer event starting Nov. 20 and running through Dec. 18.

In that promotion, shoppers can win cold hard cash by shopping local, organizers said. For every $10 spent at a participating business, shoppers get a stamp on an entry card available at the businesses. Collect 10 stamps and get entered into weekly drawings for $500 in gift cards and a grand prize drawing for $1000 in gift cards, the rules state.

Executive director Kelly Shoemake said stamps collected in Palmer’s event don’t have to be gathered in a single place. And many of the businesses taking part – ranging from bars and restaurants to retail outlets – are conveniently located within easy walking distance of each other, she said.

“For the most part, they are all in downtown Palmer,” Shoemake said. 

As with the Wasilla event, a list of participating businesses is available online at the chamber’s website. Weekly gift card drawings will be held the first four Mondays in December. 

Shoemake said Palmer is an ideal place to spend a winter afternoon shopping, dining and enjoying the small-town vibe.

“Palmer is such a unique, cute little town, especially in the winter it’s so fun to go downtown to Palmer shopping,” Shoemake said. 

Anne Thomas owns AKtive Soles shoe stores in Palmer and Wasilla, and her businesses are participating in both the Support Local November and Shop Palmer events. Thomas said the events are a great way for local shops to “not only sell some product, but have some fun.” 

“Collectively, the chambers have done a great job of creating events that we, as businesses, can take part in,” she said. 

Thomas said the events aren’t just a way to promote local shopping; they’re also a way of engaging with the community as a whole.

“It’s a win-win all the way around.” 

Matt Tunseth is a freelance writer from Southcentral Alaska. Write to him at matthew.tunseth@gmail.com