Our date is set for 12 Sept. Setup time is 0900 open from 1000-1600. The location will be the WASI Wasilla Senior Center off KGB. The door prize request letter to give to the vendors and businesses to request door prizes has been published. Contact Shelia/KL3SRO for a copy. Remember the donations are tax free. Check with the Treasurer for Tax Receipts to give to the vendors.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/JKyBS4quRXDy8C78A
(click on above map link)
We are currently looking for presentations to put on the schedule. Coordinate with Ken/KL2HF to get on the schedule.
Entry is $5.00 at the gate and 1 door prize tickets, additional door prize tickets will be a $1.00 max of 10, Tables are $10.00 reserve them thru John/KL1XM. The Barbee will be $5.00 ea.
We need volunteers to help on various tasks for the hamfest. Please contact Shelia/KL3SOR. We will need VEs to conduct testing at 1300-1400, will need folks at the gate, and the MARA Country Store, setup and tear down crews. Please turn door prizes into prior to the Hamfest and any programs you would like to put on during the the Hamfest to Ken/KL7HF.
MARA is providing the main barbeque, if you could bring a side dishes it would be appreciated.
Our visitors this year will be a world wide ham tour group.
Craig has firmed up the date range for the ROAR International Ham Radio Fellowship trip to Alaska in early September of 2026. To be specific, participants should plan to arrive in Fairbanks no later than Friday, September 4th, to be in position for the Fairbanks Hamfest scheduled for Saturday, September 5th.
After the Hamfest, our group of worldwide hams and their family members will visit other significant facilities in and around Fairbanks, such as the Geophysical Institute (link: Home | Geophysical Institute (alaska.edu)), the Fountainhead Auto Museum (link: Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum (fountainheadmuseum.com)), the KL7AJ AlasKit Electronics Education Site and AARC Clubhouse (link: About – AlasKit), and the UAF Museum of the North (link: University of Alaska Museum | Museum of the North (uaf.edu)).
Upon completing our visit to Interior Alaska, the ROAR International tour group will travel by chartered railcar on the Alaska Railroad (link: Alaska Railroad Tours & Routes | Alaska Rail Vacations) to the Denali train station where we will disembark and stay at one of the excellent hotels (link: Denali National Park Hotels & Lodging | Denali Area's… | ALASKA.ORG) near the entrance to the Park. The following day we will ride into Denali National Park on board one of the official NPS bus tours (link: Bus Tours - Denali National Park & Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) for several hours of sightseeing and animal viewing.
The next day we will continue onward by rail to Anchorage where we will stay in the Hotel Captain Cook (link: ACCOMMODATIONS - Hotel Captain Cook) to use as our basecamp for out-and-back trips to Seward, Kenai, Chugiak, and the MARA Hamfest in Wasilla. Potential activities in South Central Alaska include salmon and halibut fishing, shooting at the Birchwood Range (link: Home – Birchwood Recreation & Shooting Park (brspclub.com)) courtesy of the Alaska Machine Gun Association (AMGA link: Welcome to the Homepage for the Alaska Machine Gun Association! (amga.net)), and a tour of the Radio Science and Operations Center (RSOC) of the Anchorage Amateur Radio Club (AARC - link: RSOC Home – Anchorage Amateur Radio Club (kl7aa.org)).
The Matanuska-Susitna Hamfest will take place on Saturday, September 12th, so the earliest date that you would want to book your return flight to the Lower 48 or overseas is on Sunday, September 13th. However, your hosts would be pleased to show you around even more of the Last Frontier should you choose to extend your stay into the following week. Ruth Ann and Craig, KL7H, will eventually need to fly out to London for the annual Cabin Air Quality Conference (link: Home | Aircraft Cabin Air Conference), but there is still plenty of time to share the sights of Alaska with our guests following all of the scheduled events described here.
Based on conversations held at the recent Pacificon 2025 ARRL Pacific Division Convention, we anticipate several distinguished visitors who may be participating in addition to our regular ROAR International membership contingent. These include the ARRL CEO David Minster, NA2AA (link: Chief Executive Officer and Secretary (arrl.org), Northwest Division Director, Mark Tharp, KB7HDX, and/or Vice Director, Michael Sterba, KG7HQ (link: Directors – ARRL – Northwestern Division (arrlnwdiv.org). We also hope to see IARU Region 2 representative Gustavo De Faria Franco, PT2ADM, from Brasilia, Brazil, (link: International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) | Region 2 (iaru-r2.org)) on board as well.
73,
Craig, KL7H
TEL: 1 (907) 694-4730
Mobile: 1 (907) 854-0052
E-Mail: KL7H@ARRL.NET