54:, in late February. The self-styled "largest winter festival in North America", Fur Rendezvous is highly anticipated by many Anchorage-area residents as marking the beginning of the end of a long winter and the approach of spring. In 2012, Fur Rendezvous was selected as the number one winter carnival in the world by the National Geographic Traveler.
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sells pins and booster buttons dressed as
Keystone Cops for the duration of the festival. During the parade the Keystone Cops, or "Rondy Kops," playfully detain attendees in a mobile jail until pins or buttons are purchased in exchange for their release.
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It was common for miners and trappers to have beards in the early days, so a "law" was even made that all men had to grow beards for this event or suffer a fine! This was considered to be part of the fun, because most men participated in it.
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Running of the
Reindeer – a whimsical annual event, started in 2008, that sends "herds" of people running down a four-block downtown street, with a group of reindeer released behind them, charging through the runners in a spoof of Pamplona's
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have been created and sold each year to raise money for the event. These pins have become popular collectibles, and older or rare pins can sell well in excess of $ 100. The
Kiwanis Club of Anchorage nee University
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from across Alaska and the world. However, it is sometimes canceled in recent years due to warm weather, with the most recent cancellation being in 2006.
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Traditionally Fur
Rendezvous lasted ten days, but since 2004 it has extended through early March, in order to lead into the
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beard contest (since 1950) - Beards are grown as long as possible and they are dyed, decorated and shaped for this contest.
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In 1935, Anchorage had a population of only about 3,000 and was very isolated, so to bring the community together and lift
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was then the second-largest industry in Alaska, folding it into the event seemed natural, and it was renamed the
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2021 will see a modified festival, but the Open World
Championship Sled Dog Race will be on hiatus until 2022.
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would gather to sell their winter harvests. In early
Anchorage, these usually took place in mid-February.
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culture, such as the Multi-Tribal
Gathering and Charlotte Jensen Native Arts Market.
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Races (in which teams build outhouses and pull them on skis with a rider inside),
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153:. Modern Rondy has well over 100 events; some of the more significant include:
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years, but resumed in 1946, when the festival began to draw visitors from
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177:(since 1946, with a women's race since 1953) - This three-day, 75-mile
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Pictures of Rondy pin designs from the 1960s through the 2010s
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309:", National Geographic Traveler, January/February 2012.
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Rondy Grand Prix – The Oldest Street Race in the U.S.
253:Many events tend toward the whimsical, such as the
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321:, official Fur Rondy website. Accessed 2017.
87:Winter Sports Tournament and Fur Rendezvous
224:competitors run through downtown Anchorage
89:from 1937, and later just Fur Rendezvous.
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167:Miners' and Trappers' Charity Ball and
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62:The name "Fur Rendezvous" derives from
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459:Recurring events established in 1935
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365:Pictures of Fur Rendezvous Events
175:World Championship Sled Dog Race
319:Running of the Reindeer listing
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439:Festivals established in 1935
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449:History of Anchorage, Alaska
429:Culture of Anchorage, Alaska
112:Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race
145:for children, as well as a
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199:(from at least late 1950s
360:Kiwanis Club of Anchorage
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424:Annual events in Alaska
160:Official Fur Rondy Fur
106:Greater Anchorage, Inc.
32:Fur Rendezvous Festival
18:Fur Rendezvous festival
395:61.21833°N 149.88972°W
79:Winter Sports Carnival
27:Annual winter festival
220:Frostbite Footrace –
400:61.21833; -149.88972
343:History of Fur Rondy
233:Running of the Bulls
195:Miss Fur Rendezvous
444:Festivals in Alaska
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58:History and origins
370:2009-11-28 at the
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386:149°53′23″W
259:ice bowling
247:Ice Bowling
211:Competition
413:Categories
383:61°13′06″N
294:References
261:, or even
214:Fur Rondy
135:basketball
64:swap meets
190:sled dogs
83:fur trade
66:at which
40:Fur Rondy
368:Archived
346:Archived
266:softball
263:snowshoe
255:Outhouse
222:Costumed
216:Carnival
141:, and a
50:held in
197:pageant
183:mushers
181:brings
162:Auction
147:bonfire
102:Outside
75:spirits
245:World
151:parade
139:boxing
131:hockey
127:skiing
121:Events
44:Rondy
282:pins
276:Pins
242:show
30:The
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