5 things to do in the Anchorage area this weekend

Mid-August brings a number of favorite recurring events in and around Anchorage. The Galway Days Irish Festival is a downtown favorite. Or head a bit south for the Blueberry Festival in Girdwood. If south isn’t your thing, Wasilla is hosting the annual Reptile & Exotic Animal Expo. If music or comedy is more your jam, Fred Armisen can deliver on both fronts. Here’s a look at what’s happening in the area this weekend.

Galway Days Irish Festival

11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday, Town Square Park, 544 W. Fifth Ave.

Dance a jig and raise your glass for a toast. Irish culture and heritage is celebrated at the annual Galway Days. The festival includes music, a bake sale, kids activities, a photo exhibition, storytelling and a bake sale.

Stick around for a concert at 49th State Brewing featuring Amelia Hogan along with Jimmy Murphy and Autumn Rhodes. Tickets are $25 for the show, which starts at 7 p.m.

Blueberry Fest

11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Alyeska Resort Daylodge in Girdwood

As we enter the midst of August, blueberry season is officially upon us. Alyeska’s Blueberry Fest celebrates with a new location for the festival at the resort’s Daylodge.

This year’s fest includes plenty of vendors, a beer and wine garden, half a dozen different musical acts, a Kid’s Zone and of course the famous blueberry pie eating contest.

All Alaska Reptile & Exotics Expo

11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday, Menard Sports Center, 1001 S. Clapp St. in Wasilla

Alaska’s biggest reptile gathering is back with plenty of animals, plus a lot of learning opportunities from the state’s best breeders, rescues and veterinarians.

There are also plenty of options for food and other vendors at the expo, including care supplies for your favorite animal or pet. Tickets are $5 per person or $20 per household.

Fred Armisen

7 p.m. Sunday, Williwaw Social, 609 F St.

Fred Armisen’s career has been an amazing alloy of creativity — music, comedy, acting and writing. Armisen is well known for his work on “Saturday Night Live,” “Portlandia” and “Late Night With Seth Myers.” But before that, he got his start as a punk rock drummer in the Chicago band Trenchmouth.

When Saturday’s show at Wendy Williamson Auditorium sold out, a second show was quickly added. Armisen will take the stage Sunday at Williwaw Social for an encore performance of “Comedy for Musicians but Everyone is Welcome.”

Stories From the Cemetery

6 p.m. Sunday, Anchorage Memorial Park Cemetery, 535 E. Ninth Ave.

Catch a piece of Anchorage history with the season’s final installment of Stories From the Cemetery. The Cemetery Players, costumed actors, will perform accounts of the lives of 10 people on a stage at the cemetery grounds.

The event is free to the public but donations are accepted. The best entry to access the performance is the John Bagoy Gate at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Cordova Street. Remember to bring a chair!

Check our online calendar for more event listings at adn.com/calendar.