The backpacks are waiting. The lunchboxes are emerging from wherever lunchboxes hide all summer. And parents across Anchorage are realizing there is only one more weekend before the final countdown to school begins.
Technically, most Anchorage students don’t head back until the end of next week… but once somebody buys a box of pencils, summer starts feeling like it has received its two-minute warning.
So let’s make this weekend count! We’ve got cultural celebrations, roller derby, comedy, live music and possibly the fastest way to turn blueberries into a full-blown road trip.
Before we get started, one small personal request: if you enjoy these newsletters, my Anchorage History Checks and the other local rabbit holes I enthusiastically disappear into, take a peek at the Mr Anchorage merch at mranchorage.com. I’m working hard to turn this little community project into sustainable work, and every purchase helps me keep researching, filming and finding fun things for us to do.
Now, before the school bells start ringing, here are five ways to squeeze a little more Anchorage out of summer.
Darci Lynne
Where: Wendy Williamson Auditorium, 2533 Providence Drive
When: Friday, August 14; doors at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m.
Darci Lynne is bringing her singing, comedy and famously opinionated puppets to Anchorage for a family-friendly Friday night performance.
If you have only seen short clips of her act online, this is your chance to watch her juggle comedy, music, audience interaction and several distinct characters without visibly moving her lips. Meanwhile, I occasionally lose my train of thought while speaking as just one person.
The show includes familiar puppet personalities Petunia, Oscar and Edna, and it is designed for audiences of all ages. That makes this a particularly good final-Friday-of-summer option for families who want a night out without having to explain any of the jokes on the drive home.
More info: Darci Lynne at Wendy Williamson Auditorium
Summer Family Fun Day at the Alaska Zoo
Where: Alaska Zoo, 4731 O’Malley Road
When: Sunday, August 16, noon–4 p.m.
Before the kids migrate back into classrooms, take them on one last summer expedition to the Alaska Zoo!
The zoo’s final Summer Family Fun Day of the season will feature special activities, community booths, food vendors and plenty of opportunities to visit the animals. It is an easygoing Sunday outing for families and a chance to remind the kids that even polar bears eventually have to return to their regularly scheduled programming.
The event is sponsored by ConocoPhillips Alaska. Regular zoo admission applies, so check current prices and activity details before heading over.
More info: Alaska Zoo event calendar
Jazz on the Lawn: Summer Finale
Where: Anchorage Museum lawn, 625 C Street
When: Saturday, August 15, noon–2 p.m.
Anchorage’s free Jazz on the Lawn series is playing its final notes of the summer this Saturday.
Bring a blanket, grab some lunch downtown and settle onto the museum lawn while musicians from the Alaska Jazz Workshop provide the soundtrack. It is casual, outdoors and free; three qualities that pair beautifully with an Anchorage Saturday.
This is also your last opportunity to catch the series this year. After Saturday, the lawn goes back to being a perfectly respectable patch of grass that is noticeably less jazzy.
The concert is presented by the Anchorage Downtown Partnership and Alaska Jazz Workshop.
More info: Jazz on the Lawn
Hmong Harvest Festival
Where: Sullivan Arena Football Stadium, 1600 Gambell Street
When: Saturday and Sunday, August 15–16, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Admission: Free
The Hmong Harvest Festival brings two full days of food, music, dance, traditional clothing and community celebration to the outdoor football stadium beside Sullivan Arena.
The festival marks the beginning of the Hmong New Year celebration season. Because the traditional Hmong calendar is lunisolar, New Year observances continue later in the year, but this harvest celebration gives Anchorage an early opportunity to gather and honor Hmong heritage.
Expect colorful clothing, cultural performances and plenty of joyful activity for the whole family. It is the kind of event that allows you to eat something delicious, learn something new and leave feeling a little more connected to the people who make Anchorage Anchorage.
More info: Hmong Harvest Festival event information
49th Skate Roller Derby Tournament
Where: 7440 Creekside Center Drive
When: Saturday and Sunday, August 15–16, noon–7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Listed at $12–$45
If your preferred weekend activity involves speed, strategy and people on roller skates colliding with impressive purpose, the 49th Skate Roller Derby Tournament is calling.
Teams will compete throughout the weekend in a sport that is much more tactical than it first appears. Jammers fight through the opposing pack to score points while blockers play offense and defense at the same time—all on skates and moving considerably faster than I do when Costco opens a second sample station.
You can stop in for part of the action or commit to a longer afternoon of hard hits, quick turns and enthusiastic fans. Even if you arrive knowing nothing about roller derby, you will probably leave with a favorite team and several strong opinions about blocking penalties.
More info: 49th Skate Roller Derby Tournament
Parlor in the Round: Free Outdoor Concert
Where: Anchorage Museum lawn, 625 C Street
When: Saturday, August 15, 5:30–8 p.m.
Admission: Free
Yes, the museum lawn made the newsletter twice… but it is hosting two genuinely different free concerts, and grass does not get enough credit for its versatility.
Parlor in the Round brings together Alaska songwriters Emma Hill, Ashley Young and Tyson Davis. Instead of playing separate, isolated sets, the performers trade songs and stories in the tradition of a porch or campfire song circle. One artist’s performance can inspire the next, making every show a little different.
It should be an intimate, distinctly Alaskan evening of original music—and a lovely way to follow Jazz on the Lawn if you decide to turn Saturday into your own miniature outdoor music festival.
Bring something comfortable to sit on and prepare for the temperature to cool as the evening progresses. Anchorage summer may be hanging on, but it has started glancing nervously at the calendar.
More info: Parlor in the Round at the Anchorage Museum
Honorable Mention: Alyeska Blueberry Festival
Where: Alyeska Resort, 1000 Arlberg Avenue, Girdwood
When: Saturday and Sunday, August 15–16; daytime festival activities
Admission: Free
If you are willing to make the drive to Girdwood, Alyeska’s annual Blueberry Festival is taking over the resort for a weekend of live music, local artists, food, family activities and blueberry-themed treats.
It is one of those wonderfully Alaskan festivals where we celebrate a tiny piece of fruit as though it has personally carried us through winter. To be fair, blueberries are delicious and have never once complained about the weather.
Alyeska and Visit Girdwood currently present slightly different starting and ending times, so check the resort’s final schedule before leaving Anchorage.
More info: Alyeska Resort event calendar and Visit Girdwood
That is your weekend lineup, Anchorage!
Next week, the pencils get sharpened, the morning alarms return and parents everywhere resume asking children to put on their shoes at a volume that gradually increases every three minutes.
Until then, enjoy one more big summer weekend. Try some new food, listen to live music, cheer for a roller-derby jammer and consider buying enough blueberries to emotionally prepare yourself for the school year.
And if you spot someone around town wearing Mr Anchorage merch, give them a high five. They are helping keep this dude out here makin’ trouble.
Have fun, be kind to each other and make the most of Anchorage!
- Mr Anchorage