The 77th Fur Rendezvous kicked off Friday in Anchorage. One of the main events was the start of the Open World Championship Sled Dog Race. KSKA’s Daysha Eaton was there and chatted with some of the people attending.
Twenty-two Teams took off under partly sunny skies from 4th Avenue and D streets in Downtown Anchorage Friday afternoon, right outside the Fur Rondy headquarters. That’s where people stepped inside for a break from the 20-some degree temperatures. And that’s where I asked them about their impressions of Fur Rondy.
“Keith Kirk, Vancouver Island British Columbia …. Well we already took a dogsled ride this morning, which was awesome and that was a lot of fun. But we’re going to checkout all the sites and sounds of Anchorage and all the things that are happening. We’re goona go over to the market and go over to the the ice sculptures and maybe take a helicopter ride or something.”
“Madeline Monzano from Seattle Washington … I think its great. I’ve never seen a sled dog race before, so everything is obviously interesting. It’s just good to see the whole festival and the whole race. It’s just a great experience to be watching it right there in front of you.”
“Shequan Rhodes from Eagle River …. Well, it’s kind of neat to see kidna the dogs taken off and everything like that. I really like how everybody come out and support it and stuff like that. I really haven’t seen this cause I’m from Virginia, but I’m coming back, I really like it. Next year, yes.”
This weekend features the ice carving and snow sculpture competitions, the Rondy Grand Parade, the Fur Auction and more. Fur Rondy runs through March 4th.
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Daysha Eaton is a contributor with the Alaska Public Radio Network.
Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.
Daysha's work has appeared on NPR's "Morning Edition" and "All Things Considered", PRI's "The World" and "National Native News". She's happy to take assignments, and to get news tips, which are best sent via email.
Daysha became a journalist because she believes in the power of storytelling. Stories connect us and they help us make sense of our world. They shed light on injustice and they comfort us in troubled times. She got into public broadcasting because it seems to fulfill the intention of the 4th Estate and to most effectively apply the freedom of the press granted to us through the Constitution. She feels that public radio has a special way of moving people emotionally through sound, taking them to remote places, introducing them to people they would not otherwise meet and compelling them to think about issues they might ordinarily overlook.
