On the first weekend of November, the turf field at the Curtis Menard Memorial Sports Center will hold rows of pipe-and-drape booths. There's room for 120 vendor spaces on 20,450 square feet of artificial grass that normally hosts soccer. That is the Mat-Su Holiday Marketplace, Saturday and Sunday, November 7 and 8. It is Wasilla's first big holiday market this year. In the wider Valley, the Alaska State Fair's 2026 Holiday Bazaar went first, over two October weekends at Raven Hall in Palmer.
The organizer calls it an early date on purpose. The event page tells prospective vendors that "this year's early event date gives shoppers a head start on the holiday season." For Wasilla shoppers, the rest of the season follows a simple shape. It opens in Wasilla in early November, reaches a fixed midpoint the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and closes in downtown Palmer in mid-December. Those three weekends have been set for months. The smaller church, school, and club bazaars, which made up much of last year's calendar, mostly haven't posted their 2026 dates. They will fit into the gaps around the big three.
The opener is a $5 ticket, and Sunday can cost two cans of food
The Mat-Su Holiday Marketplace is run by KO Productions, a Fairbanks events company. Lotto Alaska is a co-sponsor. Here are the details for shoppers, from the event's official page:
- Where: Menard Sports Center, 44 Mile Parks Highway, Wasilla
- Saturday, November 7: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Sunday, November 8: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Admission: $5. Kids 12 and under get in free.
- Sunday deal: Free entry with military ID, or for anyone who brings two cans of food for a local food bank
- Parking: Free, according to the organizer
The organizer promises more than 100 "mini specialty shops" selling jewelry, original artwork, clothing, home décor, and food, with makers from across Alaska. The 2025 Marketplace drew more than 4,200 attendees over its two days. That's a big crowd for one indoor field, which makes the Sunday food-drive entry the cheaper and probably roomier day. Vendor rules say displays have to stay in place until 5 p.m. Sunday, and move-out starts only after closing.
The pitch is aimed at the Glenn Highway
KO Productions makes the case for a Wasilla market in plain terms. The event page says:
"this festive event brings the magic of holiday shopping closer to home—no need to make the long trip to Anchorage."
It goes on with "skip the extra travel, save on gas," and it puts $6,000 into newspaper, radio, and social media ads for the show. Each vendor must hold a City of Wasilla business license or a special event permit to take part. So the first weekend of Wasilla's holiday-market season is built as a Wasilla event, run under Wasilla's rules, for shoppers who would otherwise drive south.
The early date also sets up the rest of the season. Opening in the first week of November leaves three weeks before the next big fixed market, Colony High's Thanksgiving-weekend bazaar. The only confirmed date in between is a used book sale at the library. Last year, that stretch is where most of the smaller bazaars landed.
The calendar that's already set
Five Valley dates from November through December 2026 are confirmed by their organizers right now. In order:
- November 7–8: Mat-Su Holiday Marketplace, Menard Sports Center, Wasilla
- November 14: Wasilla Library Association Used Book Sale, all day at Wasilla Public Library, 500 N. Crusey St., listed on the City of Wasilla's November calendar
- November 28: Colony High School Christmas Bazaar
- December 11–12: Mat-Su Senior Services Holiday Bazaar, Palmer Senior Citizens Center
- December 11–13: Colony Christmas vendor market, downtown Palmer
The library sale isn't a craft fair. It does fall on the Saturday right after the Marketplace, at the center of Wasilla's quieter stretch, and a box of used books makes a fine stocking stuffer. The listing gives no clock hours, so check with the library before you go.
The Saturday after Thanksgiving belongs to Colony High
Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, which puts the Colony High School Christmas Bazaar on the Saturday right after it. The school's bazaar page announces the November 28 date in capital letters. It also says the 2026 bazaar "is at compacity," with any vendor still interested sent to a waitlist. Vendor sign-ups opened September 7. That's one sign of how far ahead the anchor events lock in. This one was full well before the end of October.
Students run the bazaar. The school says CHS students handle "the parking, sign up, packing in and out day of the Bazaar." The 2026 page doesn't list public hours or admission. Last year's details give a reasonable idea of what to expect. The Mat-Su Sentinel's 2025 craft-fair roundup listed the bazaar at Colony High, 9550 E. Bogard Road, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., free to enter, with more than 100 vendor booths. Those are 2025 figures, so check the school's page before Thanksgiving weekend for this year's hours.
The address is in the Palmer area, but from most Wasilla neighborhoods it's a short drive out Bogard Road. It's the one big fixed market between the Menard opener and the December finale.
Last year's map shows where the gaps will fill
The gaps between those fixed dates are where the smaller bazaars land. As of this writing, few of them have posted 2026 dates. The Sentinel's October 2025 roundup is the best guide to what usually shows up. These are 2025 dates and details, not this year's:
- Wasilla Area Seniors Craft Fair, 1301 S. Century Circle, Wasilla. Free. The roundup gave November 1–2 in one place, and its detailed entry listed November 1, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Summit Worship Center Craft Fair and Bazaar, 125 W. Riley Ave., Wasilla. Saturday, November 15, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., free.
- Palmer Elks Lodge Holiday Craft and Gift Fair, 2600 N. Barrys Resort Dr., Wasilla. Saturday, November 15, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., free.
- Redington Volleyball Winter Bazaar, Redington Jr./Sr. High School, 10015 Redington Road, Wasilla. Saturday, November 22, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A fundraiser for the volleyball program.
- Young Entrepreneur Winter Expo, Everett's at Mat-Su Resort, 1850 Bogard Road, Wasilla. Saturday, November 29, noon to 4 p.m. Sponsored by Mat-Su Resort, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Youth 360, and United Way Mat-Su.
- Midnight Sun Learning Center Holiday Market, 7275 W. Midnight Sun Circle, Wasilla. Saturday, December 6, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a silent auction for the school.
- Mat-Su College Art Department Makers Market, 8295 College Dr., Palmer. December 5–6.
Last year, two Wasilla fairs shared the Saturday before Thanksgiving week, and a student-focused expo shared the post-Thanksgiving weekend with Colony High. If these events follow a similar rhythm in 2026, the weekends of November 14 and 21 and the first Saturday of December are the likely openings. None of that is confirmed. Each organizer's own page or Facebook event is where a 2026 date will show up first.
The season ends in downtown Palmer, December 11 through 13
The last fixed weekend belongs to Colony Christmas. On its event listing, the Palmer Chamber of Commerce gives vendor market hours of 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, December 11, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, December 12, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 13. The Chamber describes the weekend as bringing "thousands of residents and visitors to downtown Palmer," with the Parade of Lights, fireworks, and hayrides alongside the market. Vendor applications are already closed. The Chamber's Colony Christmas page says the full schedule will be posted closer to the date.
Mat-Su Senior Services holds its Holiday Bazaar the same weekend, "in conjunction with Colony Christmas." It runs Friday, December 11, from noon to 6 p.m., and Saturday, December 12, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., inside the Palmer Senior Citizens Center at 1132 S. Chugach Street. The room has 45 vendor spaces. If you sell crafts yourself, this is one of the few calendar dates still open to new vendors. The 2026 vendor application is due Friday, October 30, the day after this post goes up. An 8-by-8-foot space costs $75 for both days.
That gives Wasilla shoppers five weeks of fixed dates, from the Menard turf field on November 7 to Palmer's Parade of Lights weekend. If you want to plan holiday shopping around the confirmed dates, mark three weekends now: November 7–8 in Wasilla, November 28 on Bogard Road, and December 11–13 in Palmer. Then watch the smaller organizers' pages for the Saturdays in between.
At Top Homes Alaska, our team lives and works in the Valley, so these weekends are on our calendars too. If you're thinking about a new build or a move before next holiday season and want a local, calm sounding board, we'd be glad to talk. Schedule Your Personal Consultation.
