Page 2 Wed. Apr. 1 Nerd Con 26
It’s time for Page Two: News that might not make the front page for Wednesday April 1, 2026.
The Nerd Club at Palmer High hosts Nerd Con 26 this Saturday. This event is expected to draw hundreds, highlighting the club’s growth.
The club started about four years ago as the Dungeons & Dragons, or D&D, Club. Palmer High School Resource Officer Keith Barkwood, is a self-described D&D fan. His love of the game helped start the club.
Today, it’s the Palmer High Nerd Club. It’s about ten percent of the school with more than 70 members. The club is open to students across the valley. Members come from Colony High, Wasilla High, and homeschool programs.
The club meets every Friday at 2:30 p.m. at Palmer High. Members mainly play Dungeons & Dragons. A few play other tabletop and video games.
Members get a handbook, dice, a club T-shirt, and access to trips and events for a $20 fee. One event the club attends is the Three Barons Renaissance Fair in Anchorage in June.
Students say the biggest impact goes beyond the games.
“Before Nerd Club, I was mostly talking to people online,” said David Spinelli. “Now I can actually connect with people face-to-face and get to know who they really are.”
Spinelli says Dungeons & Dragons is more than a game. It’s storytelling. It’s imagination. It mirrors real life. Uncertainty plays a role and creativity helps guide what happens next.
The club is student-led. Members take on roles like the Lord of Coin or treasurer; the Court Jester or public information officer and the quartermaster.
Treasurer Preston Ogden says the club had maybe a few hundred dollars when he joined. Now, he manages a budget in the tens of thousands. This includes the large grants that help fund activities.
About 20 students are planning a trip to New York City in September with help from a grant that Ogden wrote from the Mat-Su Health Foundation and local sponsors. They’ll see Hamilton, visit museums, tour the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s armor collection, and attend a huge Renaissance fair.
The success of Nerd Club will be on full display at Nerd Con 26 on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. at Palmer High. Tickets are $7 at the door. The whole community is welcome.
More than 300 people showed up last year. The Nerds expect even more this year. About 60 vendors will be set up throughout the first floor of the school.
Activities include a costume contest. And tabletop tournaments like Warhammer 40k and Magic: The Gathering. And live-action role play. And even a pipe band.
The “Nerd Bash” is one of the biggest draws. That’s an armored sword-fighting tournament using real, though controlled, swords.
“It’s really a come-and-hang-out event, not a come-and-go,” Barkwood said.
The student-run Nerd Con Café will serve hot dogs, pretzels, and its popular garlic grilled cheese. Grandma Wei’s food truck will be there, too.
What makes Nerd Con stand out is that it’s almost entirely student built.
Funding comes from dues, weekly pizza sales, sponsorships from local businesses, and grants from Mat-Su Health Foundation.
“Being a nerd is just loving something deeply—and finding other people who love it too,” Ogden said. “Everyone’s probably a nerd about something.”
Nerd Con 26 celebrates that passion.
You can hear an interview with Nerd Club officers Quartermaster Birgitta Barkwood, Treasurer Preston Ogden, and PIO David Spinelli on bigcabbageradio.org under Morning Show Interviews in the Podcasts.
Students interested in joining the club can contact Officer Barkwood at Palmer High or stop by on a Friday at 2:30.
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This Page Two article was reported by Emily Forstner and produced by yours truly, Lee Henrikson. If you have an idea for a Page 2 topic, please email us at page2@radiofreepalmer.org.
That’s it for today and the news on Page Two on Wednesday April 1, 2026.
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