2010 Fur Rendezvous

2010 ANCHORAGE FUR RENDEZVOUS

Rondy trains provide a peek at railroading in miniature

Two big dioramas featuring tiny trains are on display during the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous -- and they're getting a lot more traffic than the depot at the airport. Both are free, though donations are accepted.

Today's Fur Rendezvous highlights

Today's Fur Rendezvous highlights

Festival schedule

FUR RENDEZVOUS

Arrrgghh! Rondy melodrama offers wacky ride asea

After the ceremonial start of the Iditarod and the Fur Rendezvous Sprint races today, when you realize you forgot your Miners' and Trappers' Ball costume -- what can you do to sustain the merriment? Take in the Alaska Sound Celebration's melodrama, one of the corniest, silliest and most popular events during Rondy for the past 20 years.

Photos: 2010 Fur Rondy

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2010 ANCHORAGE FUR RENDEZVOUS

3-D films included in Experience Theatre's Rondy lineup

Now projecting in an intimate, state-of-the-art facility, the Alaska Experience Theatre is celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Anchorage Fur Rendezvous with a brief look at the history of the Rondy championship sled dog races and a turtle's-eye view of the world.

Fur Rendezvous events today

Today's festival highlights

2010 ANCHORAGE FUR RENDEZVOUS

Native crafts fill Dimond Center during Fur Rendezvous

The maze of the Dimond Center holds a maze of tables this week, loaded with furs and ivory and the vertebrae of bowhead whales -- all marked "Authentic Native Handcraft From Alaska."

Fur Rendezvous events today

Whoop it up at Rondy carnival

Rondy poker preliminaries under way

Qualifying matches for the Rondy Tournament of Champions poker event this weekend began Tuesday in Anchorage and Wasilla, according to Fur Rendezvous organizers.

Fur Rendezvous events today

Festival schedule

Whoop it up at Rondy carnival

Carnival-goers can sip on their root beer floats, ride the new Ferris wheel and take a leap on the blanket toss -- all at the same time. Well, probably not at the same time.

Rondy poker qualifying tournaments set for tonight

Fur Rendezvous officials announced today the locations of two qualifying tournaments for the Rondy Tournament of Champions poker tournament.

Huskies become 'drivers' in publicity sled race

The scene at Kincaid Park looked like a "Far Side" cartoon. Four sprint sleds hauled by three humans each raced for a finish line, with a dog "driver" in each sled.

Video: Snausages Man Sled Race

Whoop it up at Rondy carnival

Rondy poker preliminaries under way

Fur Rendezvous events today

Prizes awarded for snow sculpture

Judges' results in the Fur Rendezvous Snow Sculpture Competition were announced Sunday as sculptors finished a week of frigid weather and fun. Mostly fun.

A fab fifth for Streeper

Blayne Streeper stood on the back of his sled, arms outstretched in victory as his fleet-footed team of 16 dogs cruised the final yards to victory. Crossing the finish line of the Fur Rendezvous World Sled Dog Championships, Streeper grabbed his hat and slammed it down in celebration.

Rendezvous race notebook

Fur Rondy sprint race standings

Crowd revels at Running of the Reindeer

2010 ANCHORAGE FUR RENDEZVOUS

Crowd revels at Running of the Reindeer

One difference between Anchorage, Alaska, and Pamplona, Spain, is cuisine. At Fur Rendezvous on Sunday, you could buy reindeer sausage, reindeer salami, reindeer grinders and reindeer nachos before the Running of the Reindeer.

A fab fifth for Streeper

Reader-submitted: Rondy present and past

2010 ANCHORAGE FUR RENDEZVOUS

Rondy revelers should prepare for chills

The temperature stood at 15 degrees shortly after sunrise on Saturday as the daring did their stretches in front of the Egan Center at the start of the Frostbite Footrace and Costume Fun Run. And it didn't rise much by the time the Grand Parade started later in the morning.

Streeper builds Rondy lead during second day of racing

Iditarod champ turns on the speed in Rendezvous races

Photos: Setting up Rondy

2010 ANCHORAGE FUR RENDEZVOUS

Streeper builds Rondy lead during second day of racing

Sporting the same colors as UAA, Blayne Streeper of Fort Nelson, British Columbia, holds a 33-second lead over Arleigh Reynolds of Salcha in a bid for his sixth overall and fourth consecutive Fur Rendezvous World Sled Dog Championship.

SLED DOG RACING

Streeper leads Fur Rondy race after first heat

The Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship always tests mushers and sled dogs with a course that includes tunnels, bridges and streets lined with people. This year, the historic three-day race presented another interesting challenge -- head-on passes.

Photos: Setting up Rondy

Reader-submitted: Rondy present and past

Patriotic salute a hit at 'Rondy on Ice'

Pitch black. The first star of the day, the American flag, takes center stage. With kids screaming, a large crowd and spick-and-span ice rink, the 40-year anniversary of Rondy On Ice begins.

Iditarod champ turns on the speed in Rendezvous races

This weekend, Jeff King zipped down Fourth Avenue for the first time on a sprint sled as a rookie in the Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship Sled Dog Race.

2010 FUR RONDY

Rondy poker tournament gets green light to proceed

The Alaska Hold'em Poker Tournament is back on the schedule at Fur Rendezvous after a week of uncertainty over legal concerns.

Reader-submitted: Rondy present and past

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2010 FUR RENDEZVOUS

Fresh snow brings smiles to Rondy mushers

The world's fastest sprint dog mushers awoke Thursday morning to a snow-globe scene that may have seemed like a blessing from above.

Let the fun begin

Photos: Setting up Rondy

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Let the fun begin

The first Fur Rendezvous spanned three days and early events included skiing, hockey, boxing and sled dog races. Rondy executive director Susan Duck said Johnson got the idea in 1935 after a visit to the Fairbanks' winter carnival. Rondy is now a 10-day affair with 26 official events and dozens more that are partnerships with community groups. On Friday Fur Rondy kicks of its 75th anniversary, here are some of this year's highlights.

UAA student selected Rondy Queen

Jessica Kazmierczak, 20, received the crown as Miss Fur Rondy 2010 from Mayor Dan Sullivan on Wednesday.

Record purse lures 25 sprint mushers

Lured by a record $80,000 purse, 25 sprint mushers have signed up for the Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship sled dog race, one of the biggest fields in recent years.

Does Fur Rondy sled dog race need a home-state hero?

If the popularity of the Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Race has waned over the years, as some sprint mushing fans claim, could the reason be as simple as no home-state champion?

Rondy's art dogs run riot around town

For the past month or so, a dozen odd huskies have been spotted around Anchorage. Sprint dogs in full gallop, they're a team of sorts, though not harnessed together at the moment.