What to do in Mat-Su (Dec. 25-28): Friendship dinner, lights and ice skating
The annual Christmas Friendship Dinner is the big to-do of the week.
What you need to know:
- Holiday activities in the Mat-Su Valley slow down this weekend, with most community events giving way to downtime with friends and family.
- The Christmas Friendship Dinner, a long-running Valley tradition, will serve a free holiday meal to thousands on Dec. 25 at the Menard Center, supported by thousands of volunteer hours.
- Other options include the final week of the Bright Up the Night holiday light show in Palmer and public ice skating at the Big Lake Lions Club Recreation Center.
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Christmas traditions tend to be couch-heavy. There are football games to watch, gifts to admire, and post-meal naps to take.
This hunkering also brings a pause to the social calendar, as people enjoy a bit of downtime indoors with friends and family.
That’s the case this weekend in the Mat-Su, where a month of nearly nonstop community happenings is ending with a light calendar.
The biggest event ahead is tied to the holidays — a massive community Christmas meal on Dec. 25 and a cleanup the day after. With Santa now revving his sleigh, here are our picks for what to do and see in the Mat-Su Valley over the extended holiday weekend.
Looking for more events around Mat-Su? Check out our community calendar now!
Christmas Friendship Dinner, a Valley tradition that dates back decades
What began as two local men’s desire to give back to their community has grown into one of the biggest and most beloved Mat-Su holiday traditions.
In 1991, Bob Bowers and Harold Newcomb served a meal of six turkeys, with all the fixings, to 67 guests at the Wasilla Senior Center. It was their way of providing a Christmas meal to anyone who didn’t have a place to go for the holidays.
That simple gesture of Christmas kindness has grown into one of the largest meals served anywhere in Alaska, with this year’s Christmas Friendship Dinner at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla expected to attract thousands of diners.
The dinner is free and open to all. It’s made possible by individual volunteers and families, school groups, civic organizations, churches, and businesses. More than 2,000 volunteer hours go into putting on the event, which, in past years, has served as many as 4,000 people.
In addition to a hot meal, the nonprofit also hands out gift bags to children and teens who attend and delivers Christmas meals to hundreds of homebound residents who are unable to make it to the event.
This year’s dinner will be Thursday Dec. 25, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information or to find out how to volunteer, visit the nonprofit at christmasfriendshipdinner.com.
Christmas Friendship Dinner Clean-Up
Yes, the Friendship Dinner is such a big deal for the region that its cleanup on Friday, Dec. 26, gets its own entry.
Volunteer groups and Rotary clubs from around the area will be at the Menard Center from Friday morning into the afternoon, and there are plenty of ways local residents can help with cleanup and teardown. Find a list of volunteer tasks throughout Friday on the Christmas Friendship Dinner volunteer list.
Last week for Bright Up the Night
There’s still time to catch the monthlong Bright Up the Night holiday light show at the Alaska State Fairgrounds in Palmer, which runs daily from 5 to 9 p.m. through Dec. 31.
The drive-through light show includes more than 70 holiday light displays. On Fridays and Saturdays, the event also includes a Yuletide Festival with food and entertainment.
Tickets are $20 online or $25 at the gate for regular cars and trucks (up to eight people), or $35 early and $40 at the gate for vans and limousines. Buses are $70 online or $75 at the gate.
Ice Skate in Big Lake
The ice is in, and the rink is open at the Big Lake Lions Club Recreation Center.
Make sure you wear your layers — this is the only air-cooled rink in the region, meaning that although it is indoors, the air temperature is what keeps the ice solid.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough took over management of the facility this year after a decade of public service from the Big Lake Lions Club. With the takeover came a few facility upgrades and a stable of new rental skates.
Open skating is every Saturday from 1 to 5 p.m. and every Sunday from 5 to 7 p.m. Skates and admission are $5 each.
-- Matt Tunseth is a freelance reporter from Southcentral Alaska. Reach him at matthew.tunseth@gmail.com