Events kick off on Friday at 6pm with more festivities occurring over the this weekend and next weekend.
WILLOW , Alaska - Nestled in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley, the Willow community is set to host the state’s 64th annual Winter Carnival on Friday. The beloved tradition, carnival volunteers said, doubles the size of Willow each year, bringing in between 3,000 and 4,000 participants.
“Just a lot of fun,” Kelsielyn Crocker, a Willow resident and part-owner of CC’s Skyfire Kitchen, said. “I mean, a busy, bustling center of people. So, really good food, music. You just know it’s going to be a really good weekend every time you come out here.” Crocker, who grew up in Willow and recently returned to open CC’s Skyfire Kitchen with her father, told Alaska’s News Source that going to the state carnival was a tradition for her family. Now, she is part of the generation keeping the over six-decade tradition alive. “Knowing that one day my future children will get to be a part of this,” Crocker said. “It’s about the community, it’s about family.”“It’s the big event of the year. It’s the number one event that we have all year,” Jim Houston, the Vice President and Founder of the Willow museum, said. Houston has been part of 62 of the last 64 winter carnivals. The first one he volunteered for, he said, was when he was in high school. “It makes me feel like the lone survivor of many of our friends that’s been through here for years,” Houston said. “It’s just a great feeling inside that you keep it going and pass on the history to the new people that step in to run an event to give them advice and things like that.” He said that it is the love of the community and camaraderie of volunteers that keep the tradition alive. “Even some of our events are catered by the 5th and 6th graders of Willow, serving us, like at the kickoff dinner,” Houston said. The over six-decade-long tradition kicks off Friday evening at 6pm at the Willow Community Center. The carnival will host additional indoor and outdoor events, including homesteader games, concerts, and vintage sled shows throughout the next two weekends. Volunteers are ask people to bring their snow machines - vintage and new - for the Vintage Sled Show and Shine event on February 1st.Daily limits for Halibut to remain the same in 2026
WILLOW COMMUNITY VOLUNTEERS STATE WINTER CARNIVAL WHEN IS THE STATE WINTER CARNIVAL WHAT IS THE STATE WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS GOING ON DURING THE STATE WINTER CARNIVAL WHO PUTS ON THE STATE WINTER CARNOVAL WINTER CARNIVAL ALAKSA WILLOW WINTER CARNIVAL WILLOW MUSEUM 64TH ANNUAL WINTER CARNIVAL IN WILLOW 64TH ANNUAL WINTER CARNIVAL
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