Bear Paw Festival

Car show on Friday - total fun!
Parade Saturday morning - good time for all!
Two stages with local bands - listen and dance in public woot woot!!
Food, crafts, and pony rides - what more could you want?
Parking is tough so prepare to walk

I came here on Sunday. This was my first time in eagle river and at Bear Paw Festival. I thought this was an awesome event! The parking was free, but it took a while to find parking since there was so many people there. Admission was free as well!

There were loads of food booths and there were all amazing. I was able to try the waffle, sweet fried pies, taste of Germany, and mac and cheese.
+ Waffles and Whatnot - Fruity Delight - Lightly sweetened crispy waffle and fruit toppings. Absolutely delicious!
+ Taste of Germany - Pork Schnitzel - Amazingly delicious! Fried, but not too oily. Breaded to perfection. Yum!
+ Mac and Cheese - Gourmet Mac - Phenomenal dish! Topped with reindeer sausage and Lay's original chips.
+ Sweet Fried Pies - Strawberry Pie - The crust was flakey and just the was i liked it. The strawberry filling was a little tart, but still delicious.

Overall:
I thought this was an amazing fair and would definitely come back next year!

I came down here with some friends on Sunday for the final day of the festival. The Bear Paw Festival is the premiere annual event in Eagle River and it has been getting larger year after year. This five-day festival includes games and contests for all ages, carnival rides, arts and crafts booths, live music on stage, a beer garden, and yes, lots of food vendors. This festival can be found behind the Carrs shopping center off of Business Boulevard right by the Town Square. Parking can be challenging if you want to find a spot close to the entrance, but there are plenty of spaces available at Carrs or on the side streets of the nearby neighborhoods for a short walk.
When we went into the main fairgrounds area around 2PM, the place was jam-packed with a lot of events under way. Some of the fun events they held were the Chainsaw Carving Demos where participants would make creative pieces of furniture or displays for the front yard with a bear or eagle design from a plain piece of wood, the VCA Dog and Owner Look-Alike Contest (this was fun to watch especially this one pug who looked exactly like its owner with the creases on its forehead), the Ice Cream Eating Contest (contestants exceeding their daily sugar intake and a lot of kids running around on a sugar high), and the Motorcycle Show (a cool display of bikers showing off their customized Harleys and handing out trophies for categories like Vintage Bike, Dual Sport, or Three-wheelers).
Of course as always, the main star of any festival like this can be summed up in one word: FOOD! By instinct, we all automatically headed for the food vendors to see what kind of goodies were waiting for us. The first stand I came across served German cuisine. I ordered two fried pork schnitzels (similar to a breaded pork chop) with some imported German mustard. This was absolutely delicious with the pork juicy and hot off the grill. My friend opted to try out the Grilled Halibut Tacos on flour tortillas topped with lemon juice and mango salsa. She really enjoyed this and finished it off in a couple of minutes.
The next stand we went to was from a local eatery based out of Palmer that served Beer-Battered Halibut with Fries or Corn Fritters. Another friend ordered the lunch platter which came with several large pieces as well as a side of fries, two cups of tartar sauce, and a slice of lemon. He said the halibut was so good and the fries were perfectly crispy. The tartar sauce that came with was all he needed as a dipping sauce for both items. For dessert, all of us got Soft-Serve Vanilla Ice Cream on a cup with crushed Oreos and Hershey's chocolate syrup.
Some of the other vendors served some notable items like Pirozhki (a Russian pie pocket with beef, onions, mushrooms, and rice), the Heart Attack Burger (four beef patties with bacon and cheese, no veggies.....eat at your own risk!), Giant Flavored Marshmallows (with choice of double chocolate, peanut butter pie, chili mango lime, or raspberry), and freshly baked Pork Rinds with chili powder. After walking for a couple of hours, we stopped outside a stand that sold several different flavors of Lemonade to cool off and rest for a few minutes. Two of us got the Rhubarb Lemonade while another friend ordered ice water flavored with Sliced Cucumbers and Mint Leaves.
All of us had a great time taking in the events and even buying a couple of items from one of the crafts booths. This was the second festival of the year I suggested as an idea for a UYE in addition to the Taste of Anchorage that was held last month. This is also another great way to meet other Yelpers in person and a good place to take friends or the entire family out for fun on the weekend. This event runs every year from July 6th-July 10th and also includes a parade on Saturday Morning around 11AM.

Bear Paw Festival is great- almost as much fun as the Alaska State Fair. The best part is there's no admission fee or parking fee, so you have access to all those great vendors and food for free! Every year in July sleepy downtown Eagle River becomes a crush of carnival scents, sounds and flavors. The parade is not to be missed- it's small-town America at it's best!

This festival was good fun for the family. I did expect a bit more cultural booths but had a good time walking around.