I stopped in here last night to check out WrestlePro AK, an independent wrestling circuit that was…read morein town for a show last night at 7PM. I have to be honest. I was a big fan of the WWF/WWE in the 1980's-mid 2000's and haven't followed wrestling at all since a lot of the big names from that era retired. However, there was a meet and greet being held in the arena at 5PM prior to the show and it included one of the biggest stars from the Federation Era: Bret "The Hitman" Hart! I don't want to deviate from the main reason for this review which is for the venue itself. When I arrived at 4:30PM, there was a small line gathered in front of a closed sliding door entrance. I realized that they didn't open the entrances to the arena until the actual event starts. The only problem with this arrangement was that this was located at the ticket stand which had a very small space past the main entrance. Pretty soon, a lot of people started to show up and the line started snaking around this small room filling it to capacity. The least building management could do was to open the sliding doors and have everyone stand in line right by the meet and greet area. The line and the space in the ticket lobby became so cramped that had they been late to open the doors at 5, people would've been forced to stand in line outside in the freezing cold. Fortunately, that didn't happen and the sliding doors were opened before things got worse. There was also some confusion with employees accepting tickets for the event. Those that paid for the event online were instructed to print out their transaction via PayPal and present it to the ticket takers. At first, some of the fans were turned away before several people explained what the wrestling promotion instructed online customers to do once they arrived. This was a communication issue that could've easily been prevented between the management and the promoters. Because of this error, people that paid for only the meet and greet were waved in without question. That is an unfortunate loss of money for the business promoting this event. The meet and greet consisted of long rectangular tables where the wrestlers performing that night sat for autographs and photo ops. I came to see Bret Hart, but he was nowhere to be found at the tables by the ticket booths which initially caused some confusion with a lot of people wondering where he was at. None of the employees gave any information as to where he was at and people were forced to wander the hallways until they saw the rest of the performers down on the main level of the arena. Once I got to the main level, things got a lot better for everyone and myself. Everyone was excited to see some of the main event wrestlers, but most of all two WWE Hall of Famers seated at the far end: Animal from the legendary tag team Legion of Doom and the Hitman. Bret Hart himself was very friendly and laid back. It was an awesome moment to shake hands, sign autographs, and take pictures with a living legend which easily made the problematic wait well worth it.

A great arena I'm sure... if you're coming to see a sport event or something on a smaller scale…read morelike a comedy show perhaps? I do not recommend this if you're coming to see Cirque du Soleil. This arena just does not do it justice. Where to start? The people who greet you are so strict and ademant about shutting off your cellphone that they forget to smile or even say welcome. Instead it's did you shut off your cellphone? To then pass another person "is your phone shut off?!"......"YES it's shut off!" I GET IT, I GET IT. What a hassle, annoying and truly just not the first impression a place wants to set for a show by the infamous cirque du soleil. A word about the layout. It was absolutely not conducive to a show that everyone can enjoy. Unless you're in the small section that faces the stage then you will not get a great view of anything that's going on. This show was clearly meant to be enjoyed by the audience directly facing the stage. Then they seat you so high that all you can really admire is all the metal above the stage and then the performers just look tiny. And this my fellow yelpers is what $77 will get you. It's that or pay $195 from what I heard from others for still what might just end up being a seat with a side view of the show. No thank you. This show would've been reasonable at $40 or $50. Ticket master doesn't even let you see a seating map. Unless you know the arena by heart, then you really don't know what a good seat is going to be. So about the show: There are some beautiful costumes but let's just say when it comes to stunts and being impressed, Vegas has spoiled me rotten. The first half of the show was alot of dancing and prancing and a few tricks but I was not thrilled. The second half was more entertaining, but the first half of the show had numbed me to a bore that I was only mildly amused the second half. I guess I expected more people to be suspended in the air and all sorts of crazy things but the show stayed very close to the ground. Again, the arena doesn't allow for much. Throughout the show there's this orb that looms over the stage. What is the purpose of it? I don't know but it was distracting. Some of the acrobats would get on it but just stand on it and that's about it. It was just so distracting and took away from the rest of the show. This experience could've been so much better but the show just didn't make sense and was not what I expected. If you'd like to enjoy cirque du soleil I recommend it in Vegas or other established locations. Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful but only a few acts caught my eye. Overall this reminded me more of a Broadway show where you have some aerial stunts but everything is mostly happening on the floor and there's dancing and prancing in colorful costumes. In the mean time, enjoy the arena for sports and such. It's not a bad place at all.....just does not deliver the caliber of performance I've been to.

This is a yearly Fur Rondy event where all the wood workers unite to enter their art into…read morecompetition. I came a couple of years ago and was too late, but this year I was able to stop in and view all the entries. I was absolutely floored. The yacht in the middle was extraordinary, the turned wood beautiful, and all the carvings amazing. It truly was artistry in wood.

The best place to be is in the way to know the aim of the place. In the side of the museum. All…read moreinside is the way of the history of the battle in Alaska.

There are a lot of museums that my wife and I see, and there are some museums which only one of us…read moreis interested in. In those cases only one of us goes in, while the other waits outside. This is one museum which I alone was interested in seeing. Located right in downtown Anchorage. More of a World War II and post war military museum. I go in the front door and am greeted by the host, a millennial, the son of the museum curator. Right in front of me in a display case is a diorama of the a WW2 landing ship tank, with it's bow doors open and ramp down, for vehicles driving right onto the beach. There are also Higgins boats or LCVP carrying assault troops for landing on the beaches. Hanging from the ceiling are various WW2 aircraft models, including the B29 Superfortress, B24 Liberator, and the Lockheed Lightning. There is a display area with a small shore gun from the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska, along with a battle flag of the rising sun, and various hand weaponry, including a rifle, pistol and a prized samurai sword! Another area has weaponry and pictures from the Vietnam War, and of the cold war, as fought in the waters off of Alaska. Highlight of the museum has to be the 1/72 scale of the WW2 Essex class fleet aircraft carrier, complete with Corsairs, Hellcats, Avengers and Helldivers. This model is over 10' long, and must have taken months to complete. $3 admission fee, takes me back in time, when I built model military airplanes and ships in 1960s Berkeley, during the height of the Vietnam War protests 15 minutes later my handler and wife antsy at the front entrance, starts pulling on my leash, wanting to go. You know who wears the pants in the house!

This museum is dedicated to the Alaskan State Police and predates them becoming a state. It does…read morenot have a designated parking area, but there is metered street parking and a commercial garage available within a reasonable walking distance. I don't mind paying to enter and they do offer military and law enforcement discounts, but many similar places that I have visited have been free. The museum has a small gift shop in front of the counter 5 exhibit areas. The gift store is small and sells hats, t-shirts, sweatshirt, patches and a variety of law enforcement books. The museum is very small, but they pack a lot in there. The main exhibit floor has the different uniforms worn by troopers, some of the weapons and equipment such as radios they used, a shout out to the US Marshals, and features a 1952 patrol car. The exhibit area behind the main one is dedicated to CSI and has equipment used in solving cases such as a breathalyzer, polygraph machines a squirrel machine (a machine used to get fingerprints off of plastic bags, a simulated crime scene, and a bust of George Taft, father of Alaskan forensics. Off to the side of the main gallery is 3 rooms. One features the women in Alaska Law Enforcement exhibit, another, called the Patch Room, which has a bunch of patches from different police department and agencies on the wall, and the last room is the Shoot, Don't Shoot Room, where they are playing a 55-minute movie on loop. This is a change of pace from your typical Anchorage attractions and is an indoor attraction that could be used to fill an itinerary on bad weather days. I enjoyed my visit here. They have a ton of artifacts and pictures to go through. If you skip the movie like I did, you can spend an hour or two here. Which is not a lot of time. It is still neat to see though and could be coupled with visits to the Anchorage Firefighters Museum, the Alaska Firefighters' Memorial, the Alaskan Public Land Center and other nearby attractions.

Perfect place to spend a couple hours! I've lived in Alaska my whole life and learned a lot about…read morelaw enforcement predating the Alaska state troopers & other police departments, the 1964 earthquake, and butcher baker. The "line of duty" wall is emotional, but it's wonderful to see our fallen troopers displayed in such a beautiful way. Admission and merchandise are fairly priced. And all proceeds go to a wonderful cause.

ANNIE AN ABSOLUTE FUN NIGHT!!!!…read more Last night I went to opening night for the musical ANNIE. There was so much laughter in the theater, along with pure enjoyment of the performance on stage. Opening night was full. The audience enjoyed every bit as did I. Sure it was community theater but much better than a night of TV or movie theater. Everyone who enjoys being entertained should make the effort to go. Not enough of Anchorage remembers what a gift we have in the PAC. It was built with oil money that rolled in during the late 80's. The PAC and the shows that are produced there are great gifts to our city. I cannot say enough about the young and experienced talent in this show. The artists that designed the sets used their talented skills to the highest level. They do so much with so little resources. The chorus talent was highly trained. They did not miss a beat. The amazing and talented Annie (a remarkable 13 year old) projected her voice right to us in the very back row. She led the production flawlessly while maintaining her A level grades. Please take the time and enjoy this show. You will get lost in the enjoyment of the play as time flies by and you emerge thoroughly relaxed, in a great mood and highly entertained.

I learned something. Something others should be made aware of…read more The Alaska performing arts has three separate theaters. If you're running late (like we were the last time) and you go in the main doors, you may find yourself being ushered in toward another set of doors adding to the already sinking feeling of being behind. A couple points to note: There are three theaters. The Sydney Laurence, the Atwood, and the Discovery theater. On several (but not all) doors there a list of what plays are where. The main doors lead to the Atwood. A side door around the side of the theater on 6th Avenue leads to the Laurence and Discovery theaters. Since I have now seen performances in all three theaters, I feel confident with all the remaining shows I plan to see. Just hope this helps everyone else.

My Aunt was in town so we stopped in. Interesting little museum of pictures of the 1964 Alaska…read moreEarthquake. A video of a scientist explaining earthquakes; shown every 15 minutes for $8. They let me in for free because I had experienced it in person! They were very courteous, helpful and informative. They weren't super busy so had time to chat. I would take visitors there again.

The movie theatre tucked away in the yellow mall downtown. In the day during the summer, they…read moreregularly show movies about Alaska, especially the 1964 Earthquake, and have a hydraulic shaking 'earthquake' theater in addition to a normal one for those films. They have some earthquake related exhibits and a small giftshop area where you also buy tickets and snacks for the movies. There is also a banquet room and the theater can be rented out. I like going to the special events they do at night sometimes, like showing classic/cult movies and improv routines by groups like Urban Yeti.

This is one of the funniest show in Town!! Great combination of Alaskan info, Joke, characters,…read morepuppets!!

Good modern design and layout. Decent access to the parking lot. Easy to find seats. My boys, wife…read moreand I enjoy the game. We lost by one in double overtime. Didn't have to pay for parking. Overall a fun time.

This Alaska Airlines stadium is updated and very nice. Be careful when parking because even though…read moreit's not we'll marked, you will get a ticket for parking lot closest to the front door. Concession stands were nice, Popcorn was OK and soda was OK as well. Overall, the stadium could use some more attendance, so maybe some more marketing or somehow bring in some more fans to make the sport game come alive but overall it was great!