Anchorage Fairs & Festivals

Since 1935, the Fur Rondy has been cel­e­brat­ing the joys of an Alaskan win­ter. And because of the time of year, this is hard­ly your typ­i­cal fes­ti­val! So bun­dle up and check out the out­house races, native arts mar­ket, snow­shoe soft­ball, a snow sculp­ture con­test, the Open World Cham­pi­onship Sled Dog Race, and the unique­ly Alaskan ​“run­ning of the reindeer.”

Anchor­age Run­Fest is a col­lec­tion of run­ning events that cel­e­brate run­ners of all abil­i­ties from the elite run­ners to the back of the pack­ers. This late sea­son Boston Marathon qual­i­fi­er boasts ide­al run­ning weath­er, mild tem­per­a­tures and a fast course with very lit­tle ele­va­tion gain. The out and back route takes run­ners through down­town Anchor­age before head­ing out along the scenic coast­line and through the city’s wood­ed green­belt. In keeping  ...more

The world’s most famous sled dog race begins in down­town Anchor­age on the first Sat­ur­day in March, in a spec­ta­tor-friend­ly cer­e­mo­ny. The first mile and a half of this leg is on city streets lined with thou­sands of spec­ta­tors. The next six miles run east and south through the city green­belts and parks on the exten­sive sys­tem of bike and ski paths.

Join this annu­al com­pe­ti­tion host­ed in Down­town Anchor­age at Ship Creek where anglers cast their line for a prize-win­ning King Salmon. It’s one of Anchorage’s most excit­ing events — come and watch, or cast your own line. Vis­i­tors and locals can par­tic­i­pate! Rent all the equip­ment you need and pur­chase a license from The Bait Shack.

Cer­ti­fied by the U.S. Track and Field Asso­ci­a­tion, this annu­al marathon is run against the gor­geous back­drop of the Alaskan wilder­ness. Peo­ple come from far and wide to par­tic­i­pate: all 50 states and some 15 coun­tries. And if you’re not up for the full 26.2, you can still be a part of it by run­ning the half-marathon, the 4- mile race, the 1.6‑mile youth race, or the marathon relay.

On these spe­cial Fri­days, art gal­leries cel­e­brate new works by local artists, and it’s great enter­tain­ment for art lovers. You may find gal­leries host­ing recep­tions with hors d’oeuvres, offer­ing a chance to meet local artists while enjoy­ing a stroll through down­town. Look for a map of par­tic­i­pat­ing gal­leries in the Anchor­age Press or the Anchor­age Dai­ly News the day before.

Over 275, avi­a­tion only exhibitors fea­tur­ing the lat­est tech­nol­o­gy, state-of-the-art prod­ucts, new inno­va­tions and com­pre­hen­sive safe­ty con­fer­ence. Indoor & Out­door Sta­t­ic Dis­plays fea­tur­ing every type of air­craft – sport, gen­er­al avi­a­tion, vin­tage, exper­i­men­tal, com­mer­cial, cor­po­rate and mil­i­tary. The Alas­ka State Avi­a­tion Trade Show is about fly­ing in Alas­ka com­plete with a fron­tier flair. Dis­cov­er indus­try trends. Learn about new…  ...more

Found­ed in 2001, the Anchor­age Inter­na­tion­al Film Fes­ti­val will be host­ing its 16^th annu­al cel­e­bra­tion of inde­pen­dent film in Anchor­age this Decem­ber. Attend­ed by film­mak­ers and cin­e­ma-lovers from all over the US and the world, the fes­ti­val seeks to sup­port new media and inde­pen­dent film­mak­ing in Alas­ka and beyond. Fes­ti­val-goers are treat­ed to the oppor­tu­ni­ty to watch films not-yet-released or that won’t be released in Alaskan the­aters, plus  ...more

In the cold and dark heart of win­ter, in the slight­ly twist­ed, yet bril­liant mind of a local DJ, an ember slow­ly burned. How long, how hot, who knows? What we do know is that the ember grew into a flame and once released, grew legs, antlers and much more…A leg­end was born. In a small office, not far away, a com­mu­ni­ty fes­ti­val strug­gled. After stag­ger­ing debt was paid off thanks to com­mu­ni­ty sup­port, it was time to give Rondy back to the…  ...more

Every Fri­day, Sat­ur­day and Sun­day in sum­mer, more than 100 ven­dors sell a wide vari­ety of Alaskan-made goods and food from all over the world. Whether you’re in the mar­ket for a valu­able keep­sake or a last-minute sou­venir, you’ll like­ly find what you want here. You’ll find sou­venir T‑shirts, furs, painters and pho­tog­ra­phers sell­ing their work, hand­made jew­el­ry, and more. Music and dance per­for­mances keep the mar­ket lively.

Don’t let ​“trade show” scare off any non-pilots: Alaska’s biggest avi­a­tion show is more like an inter­ac­tive muse­um. Bush planes, 747s, and mil­i­tary planes and heli­copters are all on dis­play — and every­one can climb into them, which makes this event per­fect for fam­i­lies. A thrilling per­for­mance of the secret F22 Rap­tor usu­al­ly caps off the event.