Anchorage's biggest annual event runs through late February and early March — two weeks of midwinter festival to break up the long Alaskan winter. The festival started in 1935 as a get-together for the trappers and fur buyers coming in from the bush, and the fur auction is still part of the schedule. Sled dog sprints, ice carving, a snowshoe softball tournament, a frostbite footrace, and the bizarre running of the reindeer down Fourth Avenue all happen during the two weeks.
The festival traditionally ends with the ceremonial start of the Iditarod, which leaves from downtown Anchorage on the first Saturday of March. Hotels fill up months ahead.