Sports

Houston High hits the bull's-eye with gun show fundraiser

At Houston High, the traditional fundraising bake sale has gone ballistic.

On Saturday and Sunday at the Big Lake Lions Club, the school's activities department will host the third annual Houston Gun and Outdoors Show, an event that has grown into a high-caliber fundraiser for sports and extracurricular activities at the Mat-Su valley high school.

"It's definitely growing," said Houston activities director David Porter.

The event started three years ago as a way to take some pressure off Houston's small business community. The Houston-Big Lake-Willow area is a sprawling, decentralized community strung out for miles alongside the Parks Highway. There are a limited number of businesses, and Porter said every one of them was continually being hit up for donations to pay for everything from new uniforms to game officials.

"We were trying to come up with something unique to take the pressure off the businesses," Porter said.

They looked down the road to nearby Wasilla High and noted that school has been hosting an on-campus gun and outdoors show as a hockey fundraiser for more than two decades. Because the area has a lot of outdoors enthusiasts, the idea of following in Wasilla's footsteps seemed on target.

"The whole community has been very supportive," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The first year of the show attracted about 2,500 people and raised about $20,000. Last year's attendance was nearly 4,000 and raised close to $25,000.

"It's become a neat and special event," Porter said.

While the show might not raise many eyebrows in Alaska, similar gun-related school fundraisers haven't been as well received in the Lower 48. In 2014, a high school marching band in Louisiana was barred from holding a fundraising gun raffle by school district officials who had received multiple complaints.

Porter said he's heard nothing of the sort. Alaskans are different, he argued, in that many own firearms and don't have negative feelings about them. He might just have a point. Google the words "high school gun show" and the Houston and Wasilla shows appear to be the only school-related gun shows that turn up.

"It's not something we want to hide from," Porter said. "I've had a lot of people from the Lower 48 call me who think it's the coolest thing in the world that a high school can put on a gun show."

Like Porter, Wasilla assistant principal Ed Ripley said his school has full community support for its outdoors show.

"It's an Alaska tradition," Ripley said.

Porter said safety is a big part of the show. Any vendors selling guns must render them inoperable and unloadable prior to the show and while guns are on site. Volunteers from the military will be on hand to make sure vendors are in compliance.

"People need to understand gun safety and its importance," Porter said.

The event will feature a variety of raffles (including a pair of .308-caliber rifle giveaways), door prizes and 170 vendor tables. Although guns are the main draw, Porter said there's also a few tables with arts and crafts and other items to choose from.

But the main focus will be on guns, he said.

"We're going to have a lot of guns, and there really is a big variety," he said.

And then there's the ammo.

Porter said area retailer Three Bears will have a large amount of hard-to-find ammo on hand, including .22 caliber and .223 caliber rounds. Porter said he expects those to go fast.

"They're doing that special just for this show," he said.

Porter said the event is one of the school's biggest fundraisers. He estimated a quarter of the entire activities budget is funded by the show.

"It's really a great thing," he said.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Houston Gun and Outdoors Show is Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. each day at the Big Lake Lions Club. General admission is $5, though Porter said children 5 and under get in free.

Contact reporter Matt Tunseth at 257-4335 or mtunseth@alaskadispatch.com

Houston High Gun and Outdoors Show

Saturday-Sunday

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Big Lake Lions Club (2939 Lions Court, Big Lake)

General admission $5 (kids 5 and under free)

Matt Tunseth

Matt Tunseth is a former reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and former editor of the Alaska Star.

ADVERTISEMENT