Palmer / Wasilla Area Fairs & Festivals

In mid-Feb­ru­ary, the Mat-Su Val­ley hosts the begin­ning of the longest and tough­est snow­mo­bile race event in the world: the Iron Dog. In its 30^th year in 2013, the race fea­tures teams of two snow­mo­bile rac­ers rid­ing from Wasil­la to Nome to Fair­banks, cov­er­ing more than 2,000 miles of rugged Alaskan ter­rain. Sea ice cross­ings, the frozen Yukon Riv­er, and treach­er­ous pass­es await these rugged snow­mo­bil­ers, who don’t slow down for any­thing; some of  ...more

Mush­ing in Alas­ka is often a fam­i­ly activ­i­ty, with entire house­holds devot­ed to the feed­ing, train­ing, and care of dog ken­nels that can house more than 100 canines! Teenagers from these fam­i­lies, plus oth­er teens who have stum­bled into the world of mush­ing, com­pete in a 160-mile race the week­end pri­or to the start of the Idi­tar­od. It’s a small field, usu­al­ly under 15 peo­ple, and the race takes under 24 hours. You can catch the start of the…  ...more

Every Fri­day from late May through August, vis­it the pop­u­lar open-air mar­ket in down­town Palmer. Start­ed in 2002, this sum­mer-long fes­ti­val cel­e­brates down­town Palmer and the peo­ple and busi­ness­es that make the town great.

Come see the thrill of human inge­nu­ity sur­round­ed by the majesty of Moth­er Nature. At this drag rac­ing track in Palmer — the only Inter­na­tion­al Hot Rod Asso­ci­a­tion track in Alas­ka, and the only NASCAR sanc­tioned oval track in the state, you can have a relax­ing but thrilling day of enter­tain­ment, with races every week­end all sum­mer long. Plus, it’s def­i­nite­ly a must-stop for any hot rod lover or rac­ing fan: this is arguably the most picturesque…  ...more

The Musk Ox Farm has host­ed the ​“Run­ning with the Bulls” trail race in August since 2002. Don’t miss out on this unique­ly Alaskan one-of-a-kind race!

One week after the town of Wil­low hosts the Idi­tar­od Sled Dog Restart, locals take advan­tage of the groomed trail by play­ing golf on it! Start­ed by the Cham­ber of Com­merce, this icy links tour­na­ment draws some 100 foul-weath­er golfers for a 9‑hole tour­ney. Accord­ing to par­tic­i­pants, the ball bounces on groomed snow just like on real grass. There’s a lim­it of two clubs per per­son, but teams can share their clubs (a put­ter and sev­en iron are…  ...more

Held the sec­ond week­end in June, the town of Palmer com­mem­o­rates the area’s orig­i­nal farm­ers, and Palmer’s colony history.