Blanket Toss Event, 1957 Photo - Ward Wells |
Anchorage Fur Rendezvous
This ten-day celebration of the end of
winter begins on the second Friday in February. The Anchorage Fur
Rendezvous is based on the gatherings between the mountain men,
Natives and fur traders who tried to tame the Alaskan wilderness
and extract its treasures. Each year, trappers agreed to meet in a
designated place in the early spring to exchange their winter's
kill for cash, whiskey and supplies. By the 1930s, the rendezvous
was relegated to the history books as the days of old-time grizzled
fur traders gave way to more modern trappers and fur buyers. During
the early 1930s, a group of more contemporary pioneers riding the
train from Fairbanks to Anchorage rekindled the idea of a
rendezvous. From its origin in 1935 as a "Winter Carnival" --
renamed the "Fur Rendezvous" in 1938 to bring fur buyers and
trappers into town for a celebration -- the Rondy has evolved to a
full-fledged Anchorage cultural event with 120 events ranging from
skiing, snowboarding, hockey, boxing, one-dog children's sled race,
and open-class sled dog race for adults to a bonfire and torchlight
parade. It has been named one of the top ten winter festivals in
the country by both the Northwest Festival Association and
International Festival Association.
Project documentation comprises 13 black-and-white 8
x 10 photographs and three color slides with descriptions; a
seven-page report; copies of newspaper articles; and a TV news
story on videotape from February 10, 1999 entitled "Fur Rondy
History."
Originally submitted by: Frank Murkowski, Senator.
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