I’ve written about Fur Rendevous/Fur Rondy before (https://www.lynnlovegreen.com/post/fur-rondy-running-of-the-reindeer), as it’s an important part of Anchorage history and Alaska life.
This year, let’s talk about the history of Fur Rendezvous. It was inspired by the 1935 Ice Carnival in Fairbanks. Everyone had such a good time there that Anchorage folks decided it needed its own winter festival the next year. The first one was simply called the Winter Sports Festival and included winter sports, games and dances.
The second one added the name Fur Rendezvous as kind of a subtitle, and the third was called Fur Rendezvous. Since the early Rondys, winter sports, parades, and sled dog races have been features of the festival. This year, there are twelve days of Fur Rondy, including old standards like the fireworks and the blanket toss to newer ones like the pickleball tournament and the Frosty Paw Dog Jog. It’s a fun few weeks no matter what you enjoy!
For more on the origins of Fur Rondy, see historian David Reamer’s article in the Anchorage Daily News at https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/2025/02/23/when-was-the-first-fur-rondy-1935-1936-1937-or-1938/
For more memories of Fur Rondy, see this post on the Anchorage Memories Club site at https://open.substack.com/pub/anchoragememories/p/anchorage-alaskas-world-famous-pioneering?r=1dei0&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
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