Fur Rondy makes comeback in 2008

ANCHORAGE - Organizers of Anchorage's Fur Rendezvous said the late winter festival has made a strong comeback.

They're reviewing attendance numbers but one indication is the sale of Rondy pins. Organizers sold 18,000 pins, a 25 percent increase from 2007.

They also said a mix of new events, including the "running of the reindeer" patterned after Pamplona's running of the bulls, increased attendance at the 73-year-old event.

Jacqueline Leavitt of Golden Wheel Amusements, which operates rides at the festival, said the company's top year was 2004 and the 2008 attendance was approaching those figures.