Anchorage Fur Rendezvous

Begins on the second Friday in February

The Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, also called the Rondy and sometimes the Mardi Gras of the North, is a 10-day city-wide celebration held in Anchorage, Alaska. The Rondy has its origins in the days when fur trappers, joined by miners, capped off a season of trapping by carousing in Anchorage; this annual rendezvous was formalized as a winter carnival in 1936.
Highlighting the celebration is the World Championship Sled Dog Race, a 75-mile race run in three 25-mile legs on three successive days, starting and ending in Anchorage. Contestants come from throughout the United States. Among the scores of other events and exhibits are parades, the Miners and Trappers Ball, Eskimo blanket tossing, Eskimo dances, a snowshoe baseball game, wristwrestling matches, and performances of an old-time melodrama. Special Alaskan foods sold include sourdough pancakes.
See also Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race

CONTACTS:
Greater Anchorage, Inc.
400 D St., Ste. 200
Anchorage, AK 99501
907-274-1177; fax: 907-277-2199
www.furrondy.net

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 138

References in periodicals archive

For guests planning an excursion to the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Winter Festival, Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, or the World Ice Art Championships in Fairbanks, the Alaska Railroad's expanded passenger service offers both weekend and midweek service between Anchorage and Fairbanks and can get passengers there in comfort on the Aurora Winter Train.

Winter tourism on the rise in Alaska: take a pie-making class, book a tour of Dallas Seavey's kennel, learn to photograph the Northern Lights

The cornerstone of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous is the World Championship Sprint Sled Dog Races, which take place Feb.

Destination News - North America

A special award plaque was presented to Anchorage Fur Rendezvous marking its 75th anniversary.

ACVB hands out honors

Susan Duck, executive director of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, first met Kastner in 2007 when they were both working at the World Championship Sled Dog Race--Kastner was there shooting video from the race for Dogsled.com.

Perfect blend media shows off Alaska: this 'podcast' a hit with 100,000 downloads a month and 90,000 subscribers

To name a few, he has been recognized with the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Service Award, 1966; Outstanding Anchorage Chamber Member of the Year, 1980; Governor of Alaska's Volunteer of the Year Award, 1983; a Presidential Citation from Ronald Reagan for vocational education, 1984; Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Lord Trapper, 1998; and Alaska Business Monthly/Junior Achievement Hall of Fame Laureate, 2005.

Al Fleetwood: man of many talents: Fleetwood honored by Alaska Business Monthly for his 'Lifetime Achievement in Business.'

The Anchorage Fur Rendezvous and the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are main attractions.

Alaska's growing tourism industry--a new winter destination for conventions: with the new convention center under construction, more and more are signing up for winter conventions, bringing dollars to the community

Will take place during the annual Anchorage Fur Rendezvous winter

March 2004 calendar of events

"All years don't go smoothly, but we are successful because of our volunteers," says Bill Wortman, board president of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous. The board has often had to make last-minute decisions to cancel or delay outdoor events be cause of the weather.

Convention planning: how to deal with the unexpected; you could have a catastrophe on your hands. Or you could be prepared!

It isn't hard to understand why the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous has had more than 65 years of success as a unique winter event, with a touch of the fantastic and unusual to boot.

The Fur Rendezvous packed with tradition, lore. (Alaska this Month)

"We also concentrate on increasing attendance of events, like the Cans Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, the Nissan Classic, the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous and the Mayor's Midnight Sun Marathon."

Alaska visitor industry plans for tough tourist season: Terrorist attacks bring travel numbers down

And true as well, the roster of Alaska's wintertime festivals included the likes of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous, the Fairbanks Winter Carnival, and scads of more localized celebrations.

Alaska winter tourism: the industry that many doubted