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Rondy activities offer variety, tradition, craziness

Published on February 17th, 2010

By CINTHIA RITCHIE

The 2010 Fur Rendezvous kicks off with a slew of events from ice bowling to oyster shucking contests to the ever-popular sled dog races.

According to the Rondy board of director president Ernie Hall, most of last year's events will be back, with the exception of the Grand Prix Race and the Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament.

The Grand Prix, a three-day sports car street race that began in 1960, was canceled due to budget cuts.

"It's one of the most expensive events," Hall said, adding that the costs of hauling in snow, building the race course and then removing the snow afterward averaged approximately $75,000.

"Hopefully, it's just taking a hiatus," he said.

The poker tourney was canceled for quite another reason: It's semblance to gambling.

"The Department of Revenue took a look and said, no gambling," Hall said. "It makes no sense; there was no money involved."

Instead of a prize purse, winners of the tournament were offered a seat at the world champion Texas Hold 'Em Poker Tournament in Las Vegas.

If the Department of Revenue determines that the event does not constitute gambling, it will be added in future years, Hall said.

The most popular event of the two-week festival is the Running of the Reindeer, which grew from 900 participants in its first year to about 1,700 last year. The field will be limited to approximately 2,500 this year, with over 12,000 spectators cheering them on.

"It's an exciting event," Hall said. "Everyone wants to talk about it. We get calls from across the country. Even the world."

Tribal dance

New to this year is Dancing in Pursuit of Dreams, a multi-cultural event featuring various Alaska Native tribes and other groups performing songs, story and dance.

Another event to watch out for is Sprints at Sundog, which coincides with the dog racing during the second week of the festival. Mushers will sprint down Fourth Avenue in the dark beneath the streetlights, circle around Mulchavey Stadium and then back up again.

"It's going to be a photo dream," Hall said. "You'll get to see what you seldom do: Do teams meeting and passing right in front of the crowd."

Old standards such as the Frostbite Footrace, the Jim Beam Jam and the Miner's and Trapper's Ball will continue.

"Last year someone actually came dressed as a skeleton of a dinosaur, and it was full size," Hall said. "I don't know how they got in the building, but there they were out on the dance floor, and they were doing a pretty good job."

According to Hall, the event pulls people from Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley plus folks from rural villages and a lot of tourists from Outside.

"We're becoming a real magnet for people to come up here in the winter," he said.