The Main Winter Festival of North America Will Take Place in Alaska in February

The "Fur Rendezvous" Festival, also known as "Rondy," dedicated to the history and traditions of Alaska, will be held in Anchorage from February 20 to March 2. This event has been taking place since the mid-1930s and is considered the largest winter festival in North America, attracting visitors not only from cities across the United States but also from other countries.

According to the festival's website, more than 20 cultural and sporting events will be held at the "Fur Rendezvous" in 2025. These include the Alaska Talent Contest, blanket toss, fireworks show, the World Open Sled Dog Racing Championship, carnival, frostbite race, a grand parade, country-jam miners' and trappers' events.

Visitors can also expect snowshoe softball, the "Reindeer Run," and much more.

The festival collaborates with over 40 non-profit organizations, many of which assist families and children.

As the organizers note, the Fur Rendezvous Festival, also known locally as "Mekhovoye Randevu" or "Rondy," is a key part of the history and traditions of Alaska's largest city. In the mid-1930s, Anchorage was just a small town with a population of about 3,000. Winters were harsh, so activities such as building fires, shoveling snow, and surviving the harsh weather were part of daily life for some people.

The founder of "Rondy" is Vern Johnson. He and his friends decided to organize a three-day winter festival, which would coincide with the time when miners and trappers (North American fur hunters) came into town.

"It started as a sports tournament held from February 15 to 17, 1936, and included events like skiing, hockey, basketball, boxing, and children's sled dog races down Fourth Avenue. Almost the entire population of Anchorage gathered for a parade with bonfires and torches.

Since then, the "Fur Rendezvous" has gained national and international recognition, with visitors from all over the world coming to Anchorage every February to attend the festival," reads the event's website.

The official Fur Auction has been one of the main events from the beginning. It was included in the festival since fur trading was the third most valuable industry in Alaska at that time.

In 1950, an ancient tradition of Alaska's indigenous peoples was added to the festival—the blanket toss.

"Indigenous people from Alaska fly into Anchorage from Nome and the Little Diomede Islands to take part in the blanket toss and demonstrate their mesmerizing tribal dances," the organizers note.

One of the festival's main events is the World Sled Dog Racing Championship, which debuted in 1946. It attracts sled dog teams and mushers from Alaska and around the world to Anchorage.