Back by popular demand, Valley Performing Arts is offering another on-site dinner theater experience this season. "Rex's Exes” is a comedic play that follows the Verdeen cousins of Sweetgum, Texas, as they navigate a series of hilarious and chaotic events surrounding a surprise birthday party that unexpectedly turns into a funeral.

The former banquet room of the Historic Eagle Hotel has, in the past year, been on a growth spurt, one that complements its core purpose, which is, “To envision literacy to change lives by making books accessible to appreciative readers of all ages.” This is reflective in our use of available hotel space.

Horsenecks and award-winning songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hannah Read for a special one night only downtown Anchorage concert! Come down to 49th State Brewing and keep your Folk Week spirit glowing with this All Ages show in the ballroom!

People are sleeping in cars, in tents, in abandoned buildings. They are cold, hungry, sick, and afraid. When they die, there is no record. No acknowledgement. Their deaths vanish without a trace. Some of us have already lost friends and neighbors, and the world did not notice. Some of us are furious because their lives mattered and nobody counted them.

This project is a Mat-Su Valley-Wide Event, a one-day, one-stop event to provide housing applications, homeless services, and hospitality directly to people experiencing homelessness in the Mat-Su Valley. It is a way to bring service providers, government agencies, and the general community together to address a problem that affects everyone. The goal is to move from simply managing homelessness towards making progress in ending it. This event has become one of the most popular events in communities across our nation and as our tradition grows here in the Mat-Su Borough it has also become very popular.

Back in ancient times, circa 2007, a young man with great vision made the Mat-Su his new home.  He was courteous and soft-spoken, with a slight southern drawl, a talented singer-songwriter in his own right determined to help other local talent gain recognition and reach an audience.  So, he made a scene and created MAKE A SCENE Magazine, a small grass-roots newspaper of sorts, showcasing fellow musicians and other artists trying to make a name for themselves. He pounded the pavement, seeking advertisers to fund his vision, getting to know all the fine individuals, companies, and organizations that populated his new Valley home.

I often reflect on what I am actually doing as I devote my time to my children. Some days, I feel a quiet panic—wondering if I’m hindering their development. I have to take an honest look.

And yes, in some areas, we’re not where a lot of kids are. But in the bigger picture, we’re discovering a way of connecting and uncovering a kind of knowledge that doesn’t exist within square footage or test scores.

This February, Alaskans will come together for something truly meaningful as the 14th Annual Gynecologic Cancer Awareness & Arts of Healing Weekend returns February 6th–8th, 2026. The weekend will be a powerful gathering of survivors, families, caregivers, artists, community members, and healthcare professionals — all united by one purpose: to support women across Alaska who are facing gynecologic cancer.

Sometimes the hardest conversations are the ones where we admit that what we tried to do, with the best intentions, actually made things worse. That's the conversation we need to have in the Mat-Su Valley about homelessness.

The Sierra Winter Way: Built by Community, Fueled by Creativity

The photo to the right shows a colorful Arctic char, also known as the Unicorn of the Arctic, highly sought after by avid sport fishermen. Many fishermen spend thousands of dollars attempting to catch such a beautiful fish. Here in the state of Alaska, we are blessed to have such a gorgeous fish right in our own backyard, namely the Mat-Su Valley, and more specifically, Big Lake.