The Fur Rendezvous winter festival – known locally as Fur Rondy or "Rondy" – is a significant part of the Anchorage's history and tradition. In 1935, Anchorage was a small town. The population did not even top 3,000! The physical town only covered a few blocks.  Winters could be brutal and stoking fires, shoveling snow and surviving the elements was a basic daily chore back then. Life was tough and people need something fun in the cold dark days of winter!  Fur trappers and traders would congregate in Anchorage to sell their wares and restock for the rest of the winter. Since 1935, Rondy has proudly represented the pioneering spirit of Alaskans, offering wild and wacky fun for all ages. One of those wacky ways to frolic is called The Running of the Reindeer. Like the Running of the Bulls in Spain, but with a clearly Alaskan twist, contestants race to the finish line in front of a reindeer herd.

​

Now you have to understand something about reindeer. They are not vicious, rowdy, fast moving beings. However the crowd definitely is! I took this video in 2019 and it shows how this dangerous and exciting event challenges the contestants and the reindeer as well! Mind you, it was 19˚ and some individuals may have imbibed in some form of mind altering liquid (also a Rondy Tradition) prior to the race!

                 

 Caution: Watch with humor. No animals were harmed during the making of this video. No humans were harmed either. Some may have gotten a little frostbite though!

​

​

​

​