Best Bets

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 19, 2026

Another Winter Carnival has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean the winter fun is over yet. Coming up next week is the annual Anchor Point Snow Rondi festival — and if you want more to do, get some ideas in this week’s Best Bets.

BEST BIRDING BET: The Kachemak Bay Birders’ next meeting will be Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 5:30 p.m. at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters Visitor Center. Following a short business meeting, Nathan Senner will present “Harnessing the Flexibility of Animals and Humans for Conservation.” Senner is a professor of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is now the Audubon Bertrand Chair of Ornithology. He has done extensive research on Godwits (including the Hudsonian and the Black-tailed Godwits), avian ecology and behavior, migration and the impact of climate change on birds. All KBB events are co-sponsored by AMNWR. All events are free and everyone is welcome to attend. For questions, call Lani Raymond at 907-399-9477. 95 Sterling Highway.

BEST LOCAL HOCKEY SHOWCASE BET: The Homer Hockey Association is excited to share that Homer will be hosting the 12U Alaska State Hockey Tournament at Kevin Bell Arena. The tournament will take place Thursday, Feb. 27 through Sunday, March 1, with games scheduled throughout the day each day. Teams from across Alaska will be traveling to Homer to compete, bringing players, families and fans into the community for the weekend. This event is a great opportunity to showcase youth sports in Homer and the positive impact tournaments like this have on our local community. 3150 Homer Spit Road.

BEST SEED SWAP BET: Get ready for spring at the Pratt Museum’s Community Seed Swap! Museum staff are inviting gardeners and farmers from the Homer area to get together to share seeds and stories. Get excited about what to plant, and find some new varieties that are tried and true! This event is free to attend, and will include a brief presentation by Pratt Museum Botanical Garden Staff. Mark your calendars for Saturday, Feb. 28 from 3-5 p.m. at the Pratt Museum. 3779 Bartlett St.

BEST GEOLOGY DISCUSSION BET: On Tuesday, March 10 from 6-8 p.m. at KBC, Ed Berg will give an exploratory talk about some of his observations on the beach over the past several years. He’ll begin at the Anchor River, walk along the floor of Glacial Lake Cook to Diamond Creek, take a look up the Diamond Creek canyon, and then move on to the Bluff Point landslide. Along the way, he and the audience will examine far-traveled glacial boulders on the beach, bacteria-generated concretions, and petrified or coalified stumps. The focus will then shift to the Homer Spit and the 1964 Great Alaska Earthquake. Berg will present evidence suggesting that the Homer Spit is simply a product of longshore-current deposition during a period of rising sea level over the past 6,000-8,000 years, rather than a glacial moraine as originally proposed. “I believe Kachemak Bay is one of the best places on the planet to teach geology,” Berg said. “It is an open book, where processes operating across every scale and timespan can be observed — from landslides and collapsing bluffs to plate tectonics, earthquakes and volcanoes. I hope you can join us for some of these explorations of our beautiful bay and Cook Inlet.” 533 E. Pioneer Ave.

BEST LEGISLATIVE INFORMATION BET: Are you curious about what’s going on in the Alaska State Legislature? Then has the Betster got the place for you — stop by your local Legislative Information Office and talk to one of the officers! The Homer LIO is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. They can help you communicate with, learn about, participate in and track matters facing your State Legislature. What’s more, they’re also a distribution site for PFD applications, can verify passports and birth certificates for the Division and can assist with questions. To learn more about their services or be added to their weekly updates, contact 907-235-7878 or lio.homer@akleg.gov. 270 W. Pioneer Ave.