What to do this weekend in Mat-Su (Jan. 8-11)
It's time for a NYE re-do in Wasilla and a new play from Valley Performing Arts.
What you need to know:
- Wasilla will host a rescheduled New Year’s fireworks show on Saturday, Jan. 10, after Dec. 31 wind forced a delay. Festivities include s’mores, hot cocoa and music synced to the display.
- Valley Performing Arts is opening a new play, The Magician’s Nephew, with weekend performances running through Jan. 25 in Wasilla.
- Palmer High is hosting the Palmer Moose Showdown basketball tournament, and local author K.T. Munson will lead a writing workshop and book signing in Wasilla on Saturday.
- Short on time but need the local news scoop? Get free weekly news in your inbox for Mat-Su, from Mat-Su.
We’ve got an eventful weekend ahead in Mat-Su. With a holdover holiday celebration, opening night for a new theater production and a big basketball tournament at Palmer High, the first non-holiday weekend of 2026 promises to be an eventful one.
Here are our picks for what to see and do this weekend in the Mat-Su Valley. Looking for even more fun? Check out the Sentinel’s free community calendar feature.
Better late than never
Auckland, New Zealand, was the first city in the world to ring in 2026 with fireworks, hosting a massive pyrotechnic display that lit up the city’s iconic Sky Tower on New Year’s Eve.
On Saturday, Wasilla will likely be the last.
A winter windstorm on Dec. 31 forced the cancellation of the annual City of Wasilla fireworks show, but the event will instead be held this Saturday, Jan. 10, at Iditapark (594 W. Nelson Ave.) in downtown Wasilla.
It’s a full re-do: Just as originally planned, there will be s’mores, warming fires, giveaways and hot cocoa at the park’s Red Pavilion and — starting at 7:59 p.m. — a countdown to the big fireworks show beginning promptly at 8 p.m. A musical accompaniment will air on radio station 95.5 KNLT-FM for those watching from vehicles.
Catch a “magic” show
Friday is opening night of a three-weekend theatrical run of C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew at the Valley Performing Arts Machetanz Theatre (251 W. Swanson Ave.) in Wasilla. With a script “that encompasses realism and fantasy,” the play follows young Digory and his friend Polly on a series of magical adventures. Shows run Jan. 9-11, Jan. 16-18 and Jan. 23-25, with performances at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $25 for adults and $22 for kids, seniors and military. Find more information.
Wall-to-wall basketball
High school hoopsters from Kotzebue, Fairbanks and Eagle River will visit Palmer High for three days of round-robin action at the annual Palmer Moose Showdown basketball tournament, Thursday through Saturday at PHS. The tournament features four games each day, with play beginning at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and at noon Saturday. Palmer’s boys and girls will play the final games each session, with the Moose facing Hutchison High on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. (girls) and 7:30 p.m. (boys); Kotzebue on Friday at 5:30 p.m. (girls) and 7:30 p.m. (boys); and Eagle River on Saturday at 4 p.m. (girls) and 6 p.m. (boys). For more, visit the Palmer High School Facebook page.
Write it up
Prolific Alaska author K.T. Munson will lead a writing class Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Black Birch Books (2901 E. Bogard Road, Suite 104) in Wasilla. Munson, who has published more than a dozen books across multiple genres, will offer feedback to writers who bring a short story or chapter of 10 or fewer pages, 12-point font, single-spaced. The workshop costs $7 and will be followed by a book signing. Find more information here.
-- Matt Tunseth is a freelance reporter from Southcentral Alaska. Reach him at matthew.tunseth@gmail.com