Huge winter festival in Anchorage

  • 2020-11-03
An annual event that is eagerly anticipated will return to Anchorage in the spring.

The Fur Rendezvous Winter Festival, or the ‘Fur Rondy’ as residents call it, is a local tradition dating back to 1936. At that time, the population of Anchorage was approximately 3,000, and there were no modern conveniences—no cinemas, malls, televisions, computers, or video games—to make the winter months more bearable.

An Anchorage resident, Vern Johnson, understood how difficult conditions were on the community, and decided to set up a three-day celebration to coincide with the annual arrival of the trappers and miners in the city. The first event was a sports tournament that ran from February 15 through 17, 1936, where participants enjoyed boxing, basketball, hockey, skiing, and a sled dog race for children.

The Fur Rendezvous grew from those beginnings into today's event, which lasts 12 days and draws people from around the world. Since the first Fur Rondy was established to celebrate the return of the trappers with their furs, there has been an Official Rondy Fur Auction every year.

Other events that have been incorporated into the fun include a Blanket Toss, the World Championship Sled Dog Race, the Grand Parade, and the Running of the Reindeer, based on the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, but in a safer and more animal-friendly way.

The Fur Rondy is set for February 26 to March 7, 2021. Banner printing can be used to create course markers and appropriate signage for events like this.