Fur Rondy - What Have We Learned

Well, now that we are a week out from the dizzying madness of Fur Rondy, it is time for a look back. What have we learned? How has it changed us? More to the point, are we going to do this again next year, and if so, what are we going to do differently. Those who do not make notes about history are doomed to repeat it. Or something.
Anyway, we definitely had a good time, and agree that it will definitely be part of our calendar next year. That said - we will be skipping some of the things we did this year, and making more of an effort to get to some things we missed this year. Also - and I must point out that I was warned about this - we will probably not take the whole week off again. When I told people we were doing that, they looked at me like I was crazy and said something along the lines of "The whole week?! You don't need the whole week for Rondy!" At the time I thought, well, we're new! We haven't been here forever! You don't know! Those people were right. There really wasn't so much to do during the week between the weekends. Now, on a personal level, we were really ready for a week off. But it didn't need to be Rondy week.

What will we make a point of getting to next year?

• Snowshoe softball. We missed the various games for an array of reasons, and now I'm sorry we didn't make the effort. It is famed as quite the hootenanny, and next year we'll make it!
• Gold Rush days. This involved various comical reenactments of the gold rush days of Alaska. There are all kinds of colorful stories about this time, and reenactors are always comedy gold.

What will we pass on next year?

• The carnival. This is a novelty for the kids, and while the weirdness of it is absolutely enchanting -been there and done that.
• Meet the World in Anchorage. Again, this is pretty much for the kids. I'm glad we went once - it was really eye opening to see what a widely multi-cultural place we live it. It made me strangely proud to be here and part of this melting pot. But again - been there, done that.

What have we learned?

• Timing is more important that most people think it is.
• People running around with reindeers is absolutely hilarious, if you can stand the boredom between heats.
• Start times are kind of flexible around here.

There are a few things we wish the Rondy organizers would do a little differently next year. Maybe spread things out a bit more. Have a few organized activities during the week. But maybe it is perfect the way it is. It was a lot of fun, and we had a blast. We laughed, we cried, it became a part of us. But it sure was cold to do so much standing around!