Fur Rendezvous Anchorage 2023

Fur Rendezvous Anchorage 2023

Fur Rendezvous is an Anchorage tradition since 1935. Spanning the last week of February, the festival usually includes a carnival, parade, snow sculpture competition, fireworks show, dog sled races, and more unique Alaska fun.

• Stay at the Hotel Captain Cook,  rated “Superb” by guests with spacious rooms, a modern gym and delicious breakfast options with a great location for exploring the best of Anchorage.

The Event

• Known locally as Fur Rondy, the Fur Rendezvous event has proudly represented the pioneering spirit of Alaskans.
• The event started in 1935 as a three-day sporting event timed to coincide with the return of miners and trappers loaded down with the fruits of a winter of work. The original event featured skiing, hockey, basketball, boxing, and a children’s sled dog race down Fourth Avenue.
• In addition to more than 20 official cultural and sporting activities, the Anchorage community hosts nearly 50 Rondy Round Town events, offering wacky winter fun for all ages.
• Hotels in Anchorage in the downtown area tend have poor guest ratings. We recommend you stay a little outside the downtown district for better options. The Aloft Hotel is 2km from the centre with a beautiful pool, spacious rooms and superb service.

Awaiting dates for the following key events:

Running of the Reindeer

• Fan favorite, the Running of the Reindeer, is a mad dash down the streets of Anchorage with caribou at the racers’ heels, always draws a crowd.

Outhouse Races

• Spectators gather on the Fourth Avenue to watch 10-20 teams racing homemade, themed outhouses on skis down Fourth Avenue, in the heart of downtown. Outhouses are recognized for best theme, most colorful, cleanest, most realistic and more. The races are classic Alaska and truly a sight to behold.

World Championship Sled Dog Races

• In the Rondy World Championship Sled Dog Races, dog teams and their mushers complete a high-speed loop daily for three days with the fastest time the winner. The sled dog races traditionally begin on Fourth Avenue at D Street, and run out and back to Campbell Creek on 4th Ave and D Street

Blanket Toss

• Fur Rondy’s Blanket Toss mimics an ancient Alaska Native whaling tradition in two ways; a walrus skin is used, and everyone can have a turn to either jump or grip the blanket’s edge while tossing others as high as 20 feet into the air. What a view!

The snowshoe softball tournament

• The snowshoe softball tournament will get your adrenaline pumping. You might not be so quick on your feet in a pair of snowshoes, but the fun you’ll have will easily make up for it. Teams participating in this tournament dress up in their wackiest outfits (think snowsuits plus tutus).

The Ice Sculpture Championship

• Head down to Ship Creek to check out all the Snow Sculptures and cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award! Watch as artists of varying levels create miracles from 8ft x 8ft x 8ft blocks of compressed snow. Division 1 winners go to the US Nationals to compete as Alaska’s team. View daily from 10am to 10pm.

The Fireworks Extravaganza

• The highlight of the event is the Fireworks Extravaganza. The event is held in Downtown Anchorage, Facing Ship Creek and the Small Boat Harbor. Pyrotechnic artists paint the sky with blasts of blazing rockets, bigger than any others used in Alaska.The winter sky over Anchorage will never be brighter!

Where to stay in Anchorage?

Here are the Hotels we recommend that keep you close to all the action,

Sheraton Hotel & Spa,  Marriott Downtown,  Four Points by Sheraton,  Comfort Inn Ship Creek