Uniquely Alaskan
Only in Anchorage, Alaska, can competitors square off in outhouse races, craft massive yet intricate snow sculptures and dash to keep clear of reindeer. More than 15 zany events and more than 100 other activities are found at Alaska’s largest winter festival – Anchorage Fur Rendezvous. Known locally as “Rondy,” the event started in 1935 as a 3-day sporting event timed to coincide with the return of miners and trappers loaded down with the fruits of a winter of work.
The Running of the Reindeer is a relatively new Rondy event. This mad dash down the streets of Anchorage with reindeer (domesticated caribou) at the racers’ heels always draws a crowd, while serious mushers and dog teams face off in head-to-head races through Anchorage during the World Championship Sled Dog Races.
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race® is 1,049 miles of pure adrenaline. Mushers and 1,000 dogs dash toward the Bering Sea coast through some of the roughest, most beautiful terrain Mother Nature has to offer. Spectators can catch the action on the first Saturday in March at the annual ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage.
Sheer power, unreal flexibility and explosive jumping ability – all tied to the cultures of Alaska’s Native peoples – are on display each year when hundreds of youth from throughout Alaska converge on Anchorage in an annual event that began as the Native Youth Olympics, but is now referred to as NYO Games Alaska.
Events such as the wrist carry, Eskimo stick pull, and high kick are based on games past generations of Alaska Native peoples played as a way to test their hunting and survival skills, increase strength, endurance and agility and balance of mind and body.
Summer Ball
Join the “Boys of Summer” while taking in some of the best summer league baseball in the country. Cross-town rivals Anchorage Bucs and Glacier Pilots are part of the Alaska Baseball League made up of six clubs in four cities. The league attracts top U.S. college players from the finest programs in North America looking to become tomorrow's big-league sluggers. (Did you know that Randy Johnson and Mark McGwire once played in Anchorage?) The Bucs and Pilots face off in an annual Fourth of July doubleheader followed by a fireworks display.
Game ON!
As temps cool, Anchorage’s courts and arenas heat up! Tip off the season with college hoops at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout, watch the Alaska Aces take aim at the Kelly Cup, and root for the hometown UAA Seawolves as they take on their collegiate rivals. UAA slaps the puck with Division I college teams during the Kendall Hockey Classic, one of the best early-season college hockey tournament held annually in October. From the ice to the hard court, there is plenty to cheer about in Anchorage.
