After days of wet weather, the weekend is looking pretty good, and that should make for big crowds at the Alaska State Fair in Palmer. You know the deal: Monster vegetables, carnival rides, livestock competition, fair food. Among this weekend's highlights: the fair parade through downtown Palmer on Saturday at 11 a.m., the 6th Annual Alaska Supercross Saturday at 5 p.m. and Bill Cosby Sunday at 3 p.m. More at adn.com/statefair or alaskastatefair.org.
If the Alaska State Fair isn't on your agenda this weekend, here are a few things happening in town.
Saturday
Drop off a pot
The annual Plastic Nursery Pot Recycling event takes place at the Alaska Botanical Garden, 4601 Campbell Airstrip Road, for one day only, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. All plastic pots, cell packs and trays are accepted. Sort into two groups: #2 HDPE plastic pots in one and all the rest in another. Stack like pots, rinse or remove all dirt and remove metal hangers. Free.
Sunday
Celebrate National Parks
The Alaska Public Lands Information Center, 605 W. Fourth Ave., celebrates Founder's Day, the day when President Woodrow Wilson signed the "Organic Act" creating the National Park Service. Join the rangers and volunteers at the center for a daylong party with free cake and refreshments, 9 a.m-5 p.m. Sunday.
Get smarter
Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist Brian P. Schmidt, a graduate or Bartlett High School, will give a free talk at 4 p.m. Sunday in the Main Stage Theater of the UAA Fine Arts Building. He'll explain how astronomers are uncovering the life history of the cosmos, learning about how the first stars in the universe transformed cold lifeless space into the universe we all know and love.