Moose Dropping Festival Talkeetna, Alaska

July 8, 2006

Every year, on the second weekend of July, the town of Talkeetna hosts its uniquely crazy Moose Dropping Festival.  My Barbara and I have just happened onto this place at the right time during our 24-day Alaskan auto tour.

The first hint we get of something unusual is the woman towing a homemade plywood moose down the street.

Heading for the parade staging area

So that's what this is!

For these festivities, varnished moose droppings are turned into jewelry and other decorative and 'useful' objects, then offered for sale.  There also is the Moose Nugget Toss, where participants throw turds at a target resembling a moose.  Another festival highlight is the Mountain Mother Contest, in which supermoms show their stuff in a type of Iron-Woman contest that involves such tasks as carrying a baby doll together with grocery bags across a river, changing diapers, splitting wood, and baking a pie.

Currently, Talkeetna's Mayor is a 10-year-old orange tabby cat name Stubbs.  Legend has it that he was elected by write-in votes from those dissatisfied with the human candidates.

For the lottery, they shellac moose poop, paint it white, number the turds, then sell raffle tickets.  The entire load is then dropped from a helicopter onto a target.  The numbered item closest to the bullseye wins its buyer $1,500.  When they say "dropping", they mean it!  All proceeds from this and other events go to benefit the local Historical Society.

Craft fair

Barbara and I have arrived in town early enough to see preparations for the Moose Parade.  Here are some of the participants:

She's beautiful!

§: Needing to get down to Anchorage this afternoon, Barbara and I were not able to stay much longer, which is unfortunate in a way; for some of these events are being held for the very last time (see Addendum).

Many of the little Alaska communities host special functions, the likes of which are not found elsewhere in our country.  It was a real treat to run into this one.

ADDENDUM

I am sad to report that this festival and parade were disbanded as of 2009.  It seems that the crowds that year were more interested in being drunk, rowdy, and otherwise criminal than in benefitting the Historical Society.  On top of that, the town officials were hassled by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) after some wacko told them that live moose were being thrown out of a helicopter.

Also, Stubbs, the Talkeetna Mayor, was mauled by a dog in 2017 and died at the age of 20.  End of an era.