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Alaska Homestead
Expo
Vendors, workshops, and speakers for homesteading subjects including off-grid living, gardening, livestock, fencing, food preservation, foraging, and generally living sustainable in the 49th state.
THE FIRST ANNUAL ALASKA HOMESTEAD EXPO
Mark your calendars for April 27-28, 2024 because you do NOT want to miss this!
If you have any interest in learning traditional skills like raising and butchering livestock, food preservation, making and using natural fibers, living off-grid, feeding your family from your own garden or orchard, or more - join us at the Alaska Homestead Expo.
If you want to dive deep into pig or chicken butchering and processing, we've got you covered! Andy from Hand Hewn Farm will be here to teach you how to use and process everything but the squeal, including salt curing, smoke curing, and dry curing. Go beyond ham and bacon to utilize and feed your family a full variety foods from your pig. Also, Don from Polaris Poultry will be doing a chicken processing demonstrations each day and will be available to answer all of your chicken raising questions.
If you aren't interested in animal processing, no problem! We've got something for everyone!
We have more than 30 workshops for adults and there's a kids track (Kids ages 5-12) and a youth track (kids ages 12 and up) so the whole family can learn and have fun the entire weekend!
Tickets are $65/per person and kids under 18 are free!
Your ticket covers the entire expo so spend both days if you want to! Attend as many workshops as you want to. One ticket gives you admittance for the entire weekend. (Price excludes food truck and vendor purchases)
What will be happening at this Expo? I’m so glad you asked!
Sponsored by:
FOOD AVAILABLE AT THE EXPO:
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Saturday, April 27
10 AM - 6 PM
Workshops, Animal Processing Courses, Food Trucks, Vendor Hall, and Demonstrations
6 - 8 PM
Ice Cream Social & Speaker Panel
Sunday, April 28
10 AM - Noon
LIVE Bluegrass Gospel Music & Message
Noon - 6 PM
Workshops, Animal Processing Courses, Food Trucks, Vendor Hall and Demonstrations
WORKSHOP SPEAKERS
Emma Marriott- Pratmore
Seed bombs, Making seed tape, Succession planting
KIDS - Ages 4-12
Tiffiny Copeland
Sourdough Banana Bread
KIDS - Ages 4-12
Annette Born
Using a Spinning Wheel for Yarn & Raising Angoras and other Rabbits for Fiber
Meghan Walker
Sourdough Basics
West Lakes Fire Dept
Preparing your property for wildland fire season (adults) & 10 steps to fire safety (all ages)
Chris Olson
Orienteering
KIDS - Ages 12-18
Bob Van Veldhuizen
Soil Prep for Garden & Soil Health for your Alaska Orchard
Tandy Hogate
Canning Salmon, Culturing Milk, Fermented Drinks, Gardening
Rick Wilder
Build your own Lithium batteries for your Off-Grid Cabin
Bee Well Chiropractic
Raising Healthy Kids, Naturally
Ben Worley
Worms are Friends
KIDS - Ages 4-18
Jared Eison
HAM RADIO
Margaret Loew
Cooking with Whole Grains
Rachel Suzanne
Family Milk Cow
Michele Deering
Raising Meat Rabbits in AK
Trevor Todero
Leatherworking & Firearms Safety
KIDS - Ages 4-18
Elaine Martin
Alaska Medicinal/Edible Plant ID & Chaga and other Mushrooms
Luetta Robinson
Homesteading when Disabled or Elderly
Sunny Hill Ranch
Yaks in AK
Sierra Hammond
Urban Homestead - Self Sustainability & Raising food on an acre in Alaska
Dan Moore
Knots & Doughnuts
KIDS - Ages 4-18
Mark Wolbers
Starting and Managing Your Alaska Orchard
Suzy Crosby
Raising Dairy Goats in Alaska
Red Cross
Prepare with Pedro
KIDS - K-2nd Grade
Old Bear Honey
Beekeeping and Making Homemade Vinegars
ice cream social
Saturday evening from 6-8 is our ice cream social featuring LOCAL ice cream from Big Dipper Ice Cream and dynamic Alaskan speakers.
One hint: We opted NOT to bring speakers in from the lower 48 but to dig deep and ask around and see who the wise people are here right in Alaska. Alaskans KNOW Alaskans – they GET Alaskans. So all speakers will be Alaskans who are living this lifestyle – the arena will be filled with good, old-fashioned Alaska smarts!
*This event is part of your admission to the expo and is free for all paid attendees.
JODIE ANDERSON
- Director, Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension at University of Alaska at Fairbanks -
Jodie is an incredibly fun and engaging speaker and her wisdom is one of Alaska's best resources. She will be speaking about things she learned at the Circumpolar Ag Conference.
Spoiler alert: Alaska isn’t alone and we can do hard things TOGETHER!
JOSH SMITH
- Bear Mountain Forest
Nursery -
Josh is a dynamic speaker and will be talking about pushing the boundaries of growing foods in Alaska while still honoring our climate and the native plants that grow naturally in the state.
Josh's can-do attitude and plant wisdom makes him a delight to learn from!
BARB THOMAS
- Original Colony Kid -
Barb grew up on what is now the Musk Ox Farm.
She will be doing an interview style talk, answering questions about homesteading and life as a colony kid.
Be sure to bring your kids to listen to Barb talk - they can even ask questions, too!
TANDY HOGATE
- Common Ground Alaska Farmstead -
Tandy and her husband own Common Ground Alaska Farm, a teaching farm that feeds Alaskans.
Tandy is passionate about building and strengthening communities and she will be talking about how to thrive right where you are - being an asset to your community and learning to bloom right where you are planted.
2024 FULL COURSES:
ANIMAL PROCESSING
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HAND HEWN FARM
Andy and Doug from Hand Hewn Farm will be here to spend two full days teaching us all aspects of butchering and preparing pork from nose to tail including bacon, hams, charcuterie, and even how to use lesser known portions like head meat, cheeks, and more!
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RAISING PORK
To go along with the course being offered by Andy & Doug, local farmers will offer a roundtable class covering everything you need to know about raising pigs for meat in Alaska from choosing the breed, taking home a piglet, nutrition, and when to butcher.
Each year we will have a featured skill that we dig deep and offer full comprehensive courses. This year our featured skill is animal processing specific to pigs and chickens. Thank you to Hand Hewn Farms and Polaris Poultry for taking the time to teach us this valuable craft that we can all use on our homesteads.
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POLARIS POULTRY
Don Dyer from Polaris Poultry will have his own tent and will be available both days to answer question and chat about all things poultry from egg layers to meat birds to protectors of your flock.
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CHICKEN PROCESSING DEMO
Don will be doing a couple of chicken processing demonstrations from start to finish. Don enjoys teaching and helping Alaskans become more confident in raising and butchering chickens.
2024 FULL SCHEDULE
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SATURDAY APRIL 27
9 am - 6 pm
Workshops, Courses, Vendors, & Food trucks
6 pm - 8 pm
Ice Cream Social & Keynote Speakers
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SUNDAY APRIL 28
10 am - Noon
Chapel time with Gospel Bluegrass band & Speaker
Noon - 4 pm
Workshops, Courses, Vendors, & Food Trucks.
Convenient Location
Big Lake Lions Club
Big Lake, AK
2942 S. Lions Ct.
Big Lake, AK 99652
What are you waiting for?
Space is Limited!
Tickets are only $65 for the entire weekend and kids under 18 are FREE!
Time is running out to reserve your spot for the expo!
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