Soldotna celebrated the 66th Annual Progress Days this weekend with expanded festivities — the traditional parade supplemented with a fair, rides and contests at Soldotna Creek Park.
The parade, which ran Saturday morning, featured a variety of public figures, performers and businesses. Public entities like Central Emergency Services were represented, as well as performing groups Forever Dance and Treefort Theatre. The Weenies on Parade returned, dozens of dachshunds putting paws to pavement.
At the park, a variety of performances were scheduled for the main stage, including music, contests and a magic show.
On Friday and Saturday, hundreds filled the space under clear blue skies. Kids could be seen participating in fair games, swinging hammers in contests of strength, or desperately clinging to a wildly bucking mechanical salmon — in the vein of a mechanical bull.
The first contest of the event, Friday’s diaper derby, was won by 8-month-old Flynn Byler, who crawled to the finish line with a big smile. The Kenai Performers hosted a cosplay competition, awarding prizes in a variety of categories to contestants dressed as video game characters, superheroes, fantasy monsters and Disney icons. Wyatt Denna claimed top prize for his original character inspired by “Star Wars” series “The Mandalorian.” Denna was entirely concealed under black clothes and armor plating, topped off with a helmet, despite temperatures of over 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
Hot Mess will play from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday night, with a beer garden open. A beard and mustache contest will be held Sunday at 1 p.m., followed by a parent and child look-alike contest at 1:30 p.m. and a cherry pie-eating contest at 2 p.m. Robbie the Magician will perform Sunday evening at 3 p.m. Registration for the contests is available on-site by the main stage. The fair is open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
Alex Hamilton readies to throw a dart at the balloon pop, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alexis Jaeger and Chase Koppedge swing hammers at the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Bunny Swan plays at Soldotna Creek Park, in Soldotna Alaska, during the Progress Days Fair on Friday, July 21, 2023. . (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Maria Salzetti, as a gargoyle, participates in the Kenai Performers’ Cosplay Contest, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Daniel Faust, as the Mad Hatter, participates in the Kenai Performers’ Cosplay Contest, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sean Hamilton, as Springtrap, participates in the Kenai Performers’ Cosplay Contest, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenneth Painter, as Spider-Man, participates in the Kenai Performers’ Cosplay Contest, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Wyatt Denna, as original “Star Wars” Mandalorian Dex Vizsla, participates in the Kenai Performers’ Cosplay Contest, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Cosplayers stand together while judges tabulate the results of the Kenai Performers’ Cosplay Contest, part of the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska, on Friday, July 21, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Progress Days Parade proceeds down Marydale Lane in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
State Sen. Jesse Bjorkman greets attendees as he proceeds down Marydale Lane in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
One of the “Weenies on Parade” proceeds down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A representative of Frontier Community Services passes handouts to kids as they proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Forever Dance performers proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A horse and carriage proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kids watch as Forever Dance performers proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Attendees of the Progress Days Parade look down on the action from the top of the hill at Soldotna Elementary in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Representatives of Soldotna Senior Citizens proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Members of the Treefort Theatre play music from the back of a truck as they proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Mike Sweeney, right, and others proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Horseriders proceed down Binkley Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, part of the Progress Days Parade on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Owen McWilliams hangs tightly onto a mechanical salmon at the Progress Days Fair at Soldotna Creek Park in Soldotna, Alaska on Saturday, July 22, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
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