The Running of the Reindeer. Fur Rondy's version of Pamplona, Spain's Running of the Bulls!
Having lived our entire lives in the south (Florida, North Carolina and Texas) until we started planning this adventure, we had never heard of Fur Rondy. Our first question was, "what the heck is Fur Rondy"? Well, now we know!
Fur Rondy 2022
Fur Rondy's full name is Fur Rendezvous. Understandably, "rendezvous" might be a little too fancy of a word, so over the years the name of the event has been shortened to Fur Rondy, and is often referred to by locals simply as "Rondy". The origins of Rondy date back to 1935 when Anchorage was a rough and tumble outpost of around 3,000 people. These hearty souls carved out a living by fishing and trapping. Trappers would bring their winter harvest to Anchorage in late February to trade and sell. I would imagine there was also a little drinking, gambling, fighting and other mischief going on as well.
In 1935 an Anchorage resident named Vern Johnson organized a three-day sports tournament to coincide with the fur trading event. The first couple of years it was known as the Winter Sports Tournament and Fur Rendezvous. Later it was shortened to Fur Rendezvous, then shortened even more to Fur Rondy or simply Rondy.
As the name got shorter, the number of events and days of the festival got longer. Fur Rondy has evolved into a 10 day celebration of cultural and sporting events (some serious and some not so serious), a carnival, concerts, talent show, fireworks, parade, art show, the naming of King and Queen, and much more. Of course going back to how it all began, there is still a Hide and Horn Auction which took place earlier today (the last day of this years Fur Rondy).
The Blizzard Bash was an outdoor concert Friday night. The concert featured a very good cover band named Those Guys AK. By the time the concert started the area was packed. We ended up sharing a table with a very nice couple from..........Florida!
From the art show display in the lobby of the Hilton Hotel.
Love this Reindeer Wranglers Hat!
It's Alaska, it's still winter. It would take a lot more than close to a foot of fresh snow to shut down the Rondy Carnival. The Ferris Wheel and other rides were packed day and night.
Although the Iditarod ceremonial start is not officially a part of Fur Rondy, having the events overlap brings in thousands of visitors from all over the world. For locals, it marks the beginning of the end of the long, cold, dark winter. In 2012 National Geographic Traveler named it the number one winter carnival in the World!
Spectators lined both sides of 4th Avenue for blocks to cheer on the Reindeer.......and the Reindeer Run participants. The PA announcer was happy to report that after a day of summer on Friday (the temperature was close to 40), that winter returned just in time for Saturday (around a foot of snow, although very comfortable temperatures near 30).
There were plenty of costumes in the Reindeer Run. Some a little skimpier than others!
This high school choir entertained the crowd at the Rondy Carnival. I believe the choir director said they were from Texas.
After a snowy Saturday, we woke up to a cloudless Sunday. This was taken from our hotel room at 7:23 AM..........I guess summer is back!
Potential buyers taking a look at the hides and horns that would be auctioned off later in the day. I'm not sure if the fella's coat and hat are part of the auction or not! The auction started at noon and was still going strong at 3:30. We watched for a little while. Moose horn sets were selling for around $500 and Brown Bear hides were over $1,000.
Taken from the Captain Cook Monument looking across the Knik Arm
Delaney Park in downtown Anchorage is under about three feet of snow.
As much as we enjoy bench sitting, we decided to take a pass on this one for now.
We finished out Fur Rondy at the Great Alaskan Talent Competition which was held at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts. The reigning Miss America, Emma Broyles is an Anchorage native. She won the Great Alaskan Talent Competition in 2017. She sang a song and also judged todays contest.
Finalists of the 2022 Great Alaskan Talent Competition
The competition was fierce, but Beth and I both picked the winner. 10 year old Benjamin Schallert. He played a mean piano and sang a very funny original song he had written about being late to school. In addition to being very talented he had a great stage presence.
The sun is setting on the final day of Fur Rondy! Like the sunrise picture above, this was taken from our hotel room (6:50 PM).
Like so many things, COVID took it's toll on Fur Rondy the last couple of years. The number of events are down and some had to be cancelled at the last minute, but Alaskans are tough people. I'm confident the organizers will make sure it survives and thrives. John McCleary, the Executive Director of Fur Rondy said it well. "Fur Rondy is about fun, hospitality and the Alaskan Spirit" and there's plenty of fun, hospitality and spirit to go around!
