Calendar of Events
PALMER TOASTMASTERS
Every Tuesday – 6PM
Palmer Toastmasters Club
Turkey Red Restaurant
550 S Alaska St. Palmer
FREE Admission www.palmer.toastmasters.org
ALASKA HEALTH FAIR
9/17/2021 – 12PM
Alaska Family Services Tobacco Prevention & Control
Menard Sports Center
1001 S Clapp St. Wasilla
FREE Admission
5TH CHILI COOK-OFF
9/18/2021 – 5:30PM
Valley Republican Women of Alaska
Palmer Depot
610 S Valley Way, Palmer
Tickets: $30
www.vrwak.com
LIVING WELL WITH VISION LOSS
9/21/2021 – 1PM
Alaska Center for the Blind & Visually Impaired
Wasilla Senior Center
1301 S Century Cir. Wasilla FREE Event
TRAIN DEPOT VENDOR MARKET
9/24/2021 – 10AM
Palmer Train Depot
610 S Valley Way FREE Admission
MAT-SU EMERGENCY
PREPAREDNESS EXPO
9/25/2021 – 10AM
Mat-Su Borough Dept of Emergency Services
Menard Sports Center
1001 S Clapp St. Wasilla FREE Event
https://ready.matsugov.us/
ALASKA HEALTH FAIR
9/29/2021 – 9AM
Alaska Family Services Tobacco Prevention & Control
Palmer Train Depot
610 S Valley Way, Palmer FREE Event
THE PERFECT STORM WORKSHOP
9/29/2021 – 6:30PM Bee Well Chiropractic Hebrews Café
490 S. Knik-Goose Bay Rd. Wasilla FREE Event with Registration https://fb.me/e/1jfrGubZD
ONE-DAY RESUME WORKSHOP
9/30/2021, 10/7/2021 – 8AM
Connect Palmer
202 S Alaska St. Palmer FREE Event
12TH ANNUAL ROTARY UNCORKED
10/9/2021 – 6PM
Wasilla Noon Rotary Club
Menard Sports Center 1001 S Clapp St. Wasilla
Tickets: $20 - $1000 www.rotaryuncorked.com
Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums Rumblethumps Concert 10/9/2021 – 7PM
Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums
St. John Lutheran Church
440 E. Elmwood Ave. FREE Admission, Donations Welcome
ALASKA HOME COMPANION SHOW
10/9/2021 – 7PM
Valley Arts Alliance
Museum of Alaska
Transportation & History
3800 W Museum Dr. FREE Event, $15 Suggested Donation
Lyla, Age 10
Sherri, Age 50
Contributed by Carmen Summerfield
Alaska Home Companion Show
10/9/2021 – 7PM Valley Arts Alliance Museum of Alaska
Transportation & History
3800 W Museum Dr. FREE Event, $15 Suggested Donation
Would you like to hear stories about the best, the worst, and the silliest of everyday living in Alaska?
Coming to you Saturday, October 9, from the historic Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry (MATI) next to Wasilla International Airport, the 2021 Premier Episode of The Alaska Home Companion—A Frontier Variety Show!
MATI is our favorite Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry, and The Alaska Home Companion—A Frontier Variety Show! is the Valley Arts Alliance rendition of a live radio broadcast from the golden age of radio, with skits, and music, similar to the popular Prairie Home Companion radio show on NPR.
For those of you who haven’t seen or heard one of our episodes, The Alaska
Home Companion—A Frontier Variety Show! features interesting stories by Alaskans about the best, the worst, and the silliest of everyday living in Alaska. In previous episodes, we heard from The Roving Reporter, Mom and Louie, and Guy d’North, as well as news from Lake Willowa, Mukluk Radio, and Coffee Talk.
The 2021 season is our eighth year producing The Alaska Home Companion—A Frontier Variety Show!, and we will continue with new music and skits, occasional impersonations of local celebrities, and will be occasionally broadcast live by Radio Free Palmer on 89.5 FM.
So, mark your calendar! The Wasilla episode of the Valley Arts Alliance Alaska Home Companion—A Frontier Variety Show! will be broadcast live at 7pm Saturday, October 9, 2021, at the Museum of Alaska Transportation and Industry in Wasilla. The suggested donation for this event is $15. A cash bar will be open during the event.
To see exciting scenes of these episodes, visit our Archive Pages at www.ValleyArtsAlliance.com.
Music
Contributed by Becky Oviatt
Saturday, July 31st, Static Cycle played their last EVER concert, here, “home” in Alaska.
As the show started, Jared Navarre, fronts man for the band, stated they were supposed to have canceled ALL of their shows, but he refused to cancel this one, because Alaska was the most supportive place EVER, and this was where it started.
I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Navarre and Andy Sheridan of the band for KONR radio 106.1 FM.
I am currently doing a one-hour weekly show, highlighting artists from the Mat-Su. Our corner of the world is (or was) home for so much musical talent.
Local, regional, statewide and national/ international acts have been spawned in this area.
This interview went something like this:
DJ: We have with us Jared Navarre and Andy from Static Cycle. Last night, they played their final show. It was really emotional. It was a sad night. It was a happy night. It was a fantastic concert.
Jared: Thank you.
DJ: My clothes are still pink from the chalk.
Jared: I’m taking it out of my ears and oh, it’ll be in me for another week.
DJ: Oh, jeez. So, Jared, you started out at age 19. And just literally burst onto the scene, or at least that’s what it seems like. MTV called you the greatest young front man in Rock. What got you started? Where did you get started?
Jared: Well, getting started in music was a combination of my family, you know, I always had music around. My mother played, piano from the day I was born, so that was just part of our family culture. Then, I went through choir in church and in school and all that, I actually picked up a guitar when I was 16 and I wrote my first song that day. It was my dad’s guitar. We started a band, I think, a week later. And we were awful.
DJ: Most usually are to start with.
Jared: Yeah, yeah. And then things took a really good turn right around, yeah, 19 or so
. DJ: So, when did you leave Wasilla and go to Points South?
Jared: We released our first record, our single pressure which organically kind of took off around the country. So right after that, we jumped on the road and went on tour, still based in Alaska. Eventually, the traveling and
everything was enough that we had to pick different bases, home bases in Connecticut for a little bit, Nebraska, Colorado and all that. And now Nashville full time.
INTERVIEW CONTINUES ONLINE: www.makeasceneak.com/staticcycle
Contributed by Glenda Field
Glenda Field, a local Mat-Su artist, will present her paintings from October 8th to November 12th at Vagabond Blues Coffee Shop in Palmer. Glenda works mainly with acrylic and watercolor, and also paints on glass and porcelain.
This last year during the pandemic, she created her watercolor paintings on wooden panels, boards and canvases after preparing the canvases and panels with an assortment of absorbent grounds, gesso and pastes. She is excited about how watercolor paints work differently on surfaces other than paper and will have a selection of these new watercolors on display during the autumn exhibition. One of her experimental watercolors was selected to be in 2021 Alaska Watercolor Society 47th Annual Juried Exhibition in Anchorage in June.
Glenda moved to Wasilla from Fairbanks eight years ago and is amazed at the beauty this area has to offer. Lately, she is painting less florals and painting more watercolor landscapes on prepared wooden panels. The joy of this method she says , is that there is no need for mats, glass or heavy frames. The watercolor paintings are varnished and quite durable. This also makes them less expensive for the buyer.
Glenda’s work can be seen at the Aurora Fine Art Gallery on 5th Avenue in Anchorage and at the Wagon Wheel Store in the Carrs Mall in Wasilla. Her glass and cards can be purchased at the Cobb Market in Palmer.
Please stop by to see a sample of her work at Vagabond Blues. She will be displaying an assortment of acrylic and watercolor paintings on various surfaces during this month-long show.
Contributed by Yuliya HelgesenThompson
My name is Yuliya Helgesen-Thompson. I am an Alaskan artist who has lived and painted in this Great Land for the past quarter century. I have taught art out of my Glamour Art Garage in Anchorage to both young and older students for 20 of those years. I believe in giving my students the opportunity to exhibit their art in a public space, that’s why my students’ paintings have been featured every May in an exhibition at the Great Harvest Bread Company for the past 15 years.
My personal art can be found in many homes around Anchorage and I am very well known in the community for
my First Friday openings at galleries such as: Sevigny, Virtue, and Stephen’s, to name just a few. Broad brush strokes exemplify the moods in each of my paintings. Each of my pieces represent a dreamscape that I try to bring to life by using abstract images and illusory colors. Passersby who look at my paintings can readily understand the feelings that lie within each piece. My husband and two sons each picked out a painting from a recent series that I did, asking me never to sell the pieces because each of them cherished their pieces so. I am regularly reminded by them that these pieces are never to be sold.
So, what is my style and from what do I draw inspiration? I try to chal-
beginnings, start of the new year, start of the race, the start of a new chapter in life. You can be young or old , or just beginning Ning your life’s journey. It could be metaphor or it could reflect a flickering interest.
lenge myself every day to accomplish something in my art that I have never done before. Creating so many semirepresentations of silhouettes and shapes and then to research them to my fullest, until inspiration strikes!
Currently, I am trying to reach a larger audience through my Instagram page. I host frequent live events where I make challenges and challenge all viewers to participate.
For more painting stories, or to order a painting, check out my existing posts of my art on Instagram. Simply choose
a style, screenshot it and dm me your idea based upon that style. https://www.instagram.com/art_yuliya_ht/
Or, for free art classes and art tips: https://www.instgram.com/cutesywutsy/
Facebook users, please enjoy your time with my art page: https://www.facebook.com/Yuliyasart-893245320753760/ I cannot wait to hear from you. Yuliya 907-4418644
Reflection of Last Summer Alaska has had to endure much over the past couple of years. The forest fires of last years Summer are one example of what we as Alaskans have had to endure. The forest fires not only affected our daily lives, they also killed much of our wildlife. Another issue which arose from global warming is the fact that our glaciers and polar ice caps are melting, driving more species to the brink of extinction. The polar bear painted as wisps of smoke emanating from the conflagration of trees, soon to be dispersed into the wind like a memory forgotten by time. As the man sitting on the boat in the painting watching the world wither away, we too are on the brink of no return where we can do nothing but watch as the world goes. As you look into the eyes of the sea life in the left corner of the painting you can see fear stricken in their eyes as well as a sliver of hope directed to you.
Contributed by Douglas Girard
On the edge of the cliff, the land drops away and spreads itself before one. The river far below meanders across the vast river flood plain. It splits up into two rivers, becomes one again, then splits into three. The curves and bends in the river reflect the colors of the dramatic sky as they find their way around a finger of forest and then lose themselves behind the trees.
One’s gaze follows the rise in the land as low clouds flow over the treetops. The valley lifts the further it retreats up to the source of the Knik River. Forested hills pile one on top of each other and turn into towering mountains. A glacier pours forth, slicing through the rocky pinnacles. Dark clouds tumble across
the scene. They momentarily block the view of the height of this other world. As they float to the side, the sun slides below a cloud, and golden rays light up this heavenly place.
This ethereal realm seems to be the dwelling of giants, titans, or some other mythical beings. The vision seems so near and yet so far away. One could almost reach out and touch it, but alas, it is too distant.
It is not a dream. No invention of one’s imagination, the distance between you and this otherworldly summit is at least thirty miles!
If one only had wings to fly down that valley and sweep upwards and upwards. Through the clouds. Pirouetting to the top of the blazing peak
and then falling to touch the glowing glacier’s edge. How wonderful it would be if one could explore on feathered wing every swelling, every vertical, every gorge, and depression of this jubilant earth.
For years I have stood looking out at this view. I have painted several smaller works of this valley. This time, only a large 48” x 36” canvas could contain this dramatic vision.
I am pleased to announce the completion of my painting “Mountain Realm”. This image is now also available as a Fine-art print on paper, metal, and canvas. You can also find a hundred other paintings available as prints on metal, paper, canvas, acrylic, wood, mugs, pillows, puzzles, phone cases, and bags. You will also find over 50 of my popular small “Bird Blocks” for sale. “Bird Blocks” are small, 3.5” wide, portraits of birds. You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook @studiogirard.
Contributed by Richard Christiansen, Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums
Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums Rumblethumps Concert 10/9/2021 – 7PM
Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums St. John Lutheran Church 440 E. Elmwood Ave. FREE Admission, Donations Welcome
Mark your calendars…
Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums present the Rumblethumps Concert at 7:00pm on Saturday, October 9th, 2021, at St. John Lutheran Church, 440 E. Elmwood Avenue, in Palmer, Alaska, (on the corner of Elmwood and S. Eklutna St; 3 blocks East of the Palmer Library.)
After winning 1st place People’s Choice Awards in both band competition events at the 2021 Alaska Scottish Highland Games, and after winning 1st Place in Freestyle Musical Ensemble at the Summer 2021 World Online Piping & Drumming Competition, Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums are BACK, and BETTER THAN EVER!
The Rumbledethumps Concert promises to deliver yet again a brilliant evening of entertainment by an awardwinning local Pipe Band, with piping and drumming from the entire ensemble, as well as solos, and smaller groups of pipers and drummers within the
Band. Special Guests will also include a performance from the Mat-Su Valley’s own Arctic Thistle Highland Dancers! What a great way to spend an Alaska autumn evening!
Based in Eagle River, Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums are very active in the greater Anchorage area, the MatanuskaSusitna Valley, and throughout SouthCentral Alaska, and have great fun teaching, performing, and competing. The Rumblethumps Concert is one of several community concerts presented throughout the state by Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums, and is regarded by the Band as a fun way to “get this party started,” at the beginning of our performance season.
Prepare to be amazed! If you love bagpipes or pipe bands this Concert is a must-see! The Band are prior winners in Pipe Band Competition at the Alaska Scottish Highland Games, and several members have won solo awards in piping and drumming, both here at home, and internationally, and in online competitions!
Admission to the Concert is free, but donations are always sincerely appreciated, with proceeds to benefit Alaska Celtic Pipes & Drums’ Education Fund, and the church youth group. Contact the Band via email at jungstensgericht@yahoo.com , or phone 907/315-9838. Phenomenal!
Contributed by Natasha Tolbert
“Look in the mirror,” a voice says. What is there to see?
The voice says it sees a perfect and beautiful girl,
A girl it loves, a girl who deserves the world
“I couldn’t hate you,” the voice says I know who could
“Look in the mirror,” the voice says again.
“See that person?” It asks
All I see is a broken girl
A girl no one really loves
Not even herself
She wants to love herself the way others do, But all she can do is add more,
More scars to this already broken body. A body that just screams,
“Please let this end,
Why won’t the pain end?” Why?
Why what?
The only pain there is, is that of those who spew words of hate
Words hurt more than people think.
“Look in the mirror”
NO! I don’t want to
There is nothing in that mirror that screams, I am loved.
There is no LOVE in that body, There is no HAPPINESS in that smile, There is no HOPE in those eyes.
Her eyes,
Those dead, dull eyes, They used to be so blue, Brighter than the sky
Yet softer than that of baby blue.
The eyes that have seen more hatred and pain, More death and destruction than they should “LOOK in the MIRROR”
Why?!
There’s nothing there!
Absolutely nothing
“LOOK IN THE MIRROR”
No, I won’t
“LOOK IN THE MIRROR” I can’t!
“LOOK IN THE MIRROR”
Don’t make me do it!
LOOK.
IN.
THE.
MIRROR!
But she can’t, Instead, she just smashes it Now, like her,
The mirror was broken in pieces
Only then does the girl look
Only then does she see,
The mirror was never perfect to begin with Just like her,
Scratches and cloudy smudges
While this obscured her view before She now sees what the voice was saying She isn’t perfect, But it doesn’t matter
Scared or bruised,
She’s still loved.
LIGHT or DARK skinned
She is BEAUTIFUL
She is HUMAN
“Look in the mirror”
You’ll see,
You’ll see the girl the others love
They don’t care about your scars and bruises, They don’t care if you’re white or black, Asian, African, or American, It doesn’t matter who you are
Or where you come from,
You are LOVED
You are BEAUTIFUL
YOU ARE PERFECT.
Contributed
by Wendy Brooker
This morning comes knocking with unsolicited advice
It says warm socks heavy socks and oatmeal
Contributed by Katherine Baker
The grass cut for the last time on Sunday for the first time frosted patterned with leaves and paw prints
The eight o’clock sunrise finds the flowers that remain with their heads cocked staring sideways toward the wind
Contributed by Charles Dean Walker
Sea of color above the northern skies.
The feather bed of Aurora goddess of animals. She is one with the feather bed, this place within is a heaven. The spirits here are at rest until she calls upon them. Yet, still, some are mischievous. They don’t fear her punishments.
Humiliation does not faze the foolish, until they are the victim of such. Beautiful Aurora bless us with your lights. You’re our heaven, within you we eternally live. We serve you, our gift is the land and rivers within you. Without you we are many souls separated on earth. We the wronged, slain, and lied too!
We see the worlds from the combined waterfall of the River of Time, and River Of Realities.
Thank you oh, Goddess Aurora. Even your face can be seen anywhere here. To hear your voice is honey smooth.
Contributed by Dylan Manderlink
My friends ask what I’ve been up to recently, Where I’ve been living as of late.
They can’t keep track and I don’t make it easy, I tell them.
I’ve been around, here and there.
Montana maybe, Seattle with my sister, a quarter-life crisis in the boundary waters, isolation at 7,000 feet in Wyoming, sinking my heels into warm sand in the desert of Utah, pretending I’m an adult in Arkansas, forgetting my roots in New England.
But currently?
Currently, Alaska.
Clutching my heart as soon as my eyes hit the mountains. Wondering how I got here and if I’ll ever leave.
Currently, Swimming in doubt but basking in anticipation. Currently,
Wondering what my next steps could be.
While trying to stay present and prepare for the future
Like society tells us to do.
And currently, In a state of awe. At the life I’ve
Created, have always wanted, and chased after.
I’m currently here.
Just here.
And maybe one day,
I’ll figure out my there.
Contributed by Katherine Baker
They said the tiger was a vapor, before their fronts, would fall like paper, prideful tiger had no common sense, for any purpose, it was past tense, a piece of paper and nothing more, sleeping giants cast no fear of war, so, they spun and spun us and deplored, but lacked to know paper tiger hurled, they stalked covert, staying out of sight, re-routed and blurred rays from spotlights, then they peppered trails, and covered tracks, and planted breadcrumbs of yak attacks, while paper tiger constantly hurled, they noticed not, their thumbs on scales, curled, could they be so unaware, unfazed, all witnessed their coup being coup-ed craze, dazed, and lost on their scripted same page, performing naked on the world stage, we saw the vast horror of ages-tiger sounded freedom’s outrages, -this cannot end well is hell’s earned wagecircles of madness, who slayed through years, premature gloats, cold sadism clear, long, they’d whispered, beyond tiger’s ears, more evolved, unseen predator here, as they spun words to alter our real, psycho-warfare, on our soil, appeared, to fell paper tiger, slandered as mere, hurled paper tiger-mind control smear, will-to-power, their one, true love goal, their game is their identity role, projected onto innocent souls, to assume all power and control, people, groups, nations cowered, usurped, then spun, angered, confused, and berserked, free speech ostracized to lone towers, legal to speak here, yet, this hour, will Mao’s psychopathic pending, savage fairy tale happy ending, happen here, where all are free to sing, and will our cracked liberty bell ring?
