From hairy legs and colourful tattoos to the Sam knighting and Queen crowning, it was a busy weekend for thousands of Yukoners and visitors who took in Sourdough Rendezvous festival events.

'Even in the cold, lots of people came out,' Marj Eschak, the Rendezvous society president, said this morning. 'At 30 (C) below, people stood for two hours (watching events).'

While there were many new and annual events for Rendevousers to take in, Eschak said there was one hole left in this year's celebrations with the sled dog races being cancelled due to a lack of snow.

The 'skiff' of snow which fell late last week was only enough to cover the ice underneath, said Eschak. City crews were prepared to go get snow from around the Fish Lake area, but there wasn't enough there either, she said.

'We can't have broken legs,' said Eschak, who heard from many people that the races described as a colourful part of the Yukon's history were missed.

'They were lamenting; however, they understood. Mother Nature dealt us a hand we couldn't beat,' she said.

While the sled dog races couldn't be hosted, there were a few new features added to the festival, including the tattoo contest hosted along with the annual hairy leg and beard contests at the Capital Hotel on Friday night.

The winners of Rendezvous' first tattoo contest were Sheldon Santa for best male colour, Lisa Williams for best female colour and Lloyd Payne for best male black and white.

Sierra Van der Meer took the hairy leg competition for most horrific overall, while the winners of the beard contest included Russ Ackland for best new growth, Ken Besler for best old growth and Roger Jorde for most colourful.

Friday was also a good day for the kids to take in some new events with Please Mum hosting the first kids' fashion show.

'They were really strutting their stuff,' said Eschak of the kids who took part.

The Slide and Glide at Shipyards Park was also a popular spot for the youngsters who were enjoying a day off from school. And throughout Saturday and Sunday, there were numerous events set up on Main Street for the kids.

While they enjoyed the Kidsezvous at Main Street and Third Avenue by the Shoppers building, adults were taking in the competitions on Main Street. They included old favourites like the axe throw, flour packing, chainsaw chuck and the swede saw and log splitting.

Winning the axe throw in first place was George Stewart, followed by Fred Lutz, Mike Smith and Vern Elias.

Also throwing an axe this year was Rick Mercer, host of the popular CBC show The Rick Mercer Report.

Mercer was visiting the territory for the show that will air on March 7.

'He really got into it. He got a bull's eye,' said Eschak of Mercer's attempt in the event.

He was also had the crowd chanting 'Chuck, chuck, chuck!' during the chainsaw chuck, which was won by Lana Fraser in the women's category and Maxime Dugre in the men's category.

Placing second was Carmen Samaschul for the women and Mark O'Brien for the men. In third was Doreen Cashin for the women and Peter Grundmanis for the men.

Fraser also placed first among the women in the swede saw/log split with a time of 1:15. Behind her was Marilyn Jack at 1:28 and Patti Backland at 2:23.

In the men's category was Todd Pilgrim at 0:28, Frank Douglas at 1:02 and Darius Alias at 1:15.

It took two hours to go through all the competitors who signed up for the chainsaw chuck, said Eschak, who was pleased with the number of participants.

In flour packing, Cynara Holder took the top spot for the women, carrying 502 pounds, nine feet, eight inches.

She was followed by Shannon Mallory, who carried 502 pounds eight feet, and Linda Bonnefox, who carried 502 pounds three feet, eight inches.

In the men's competition, Maxime Dugre came in first carrying 942 pounds 24 feet, three inches. Don Tutin placed second, carrying 854 pounds 44 feet, seven inches, with Dibbs Williams placing third by carrying 766 pounds 11 feet, nine inches.

Before filming the Main Street events on Saturday and Sunday, Mercer and his crew were Rendezvousing Friday night when he was a judge during the hairy leg competition, said Eschak. She remembered a call she had from the show last year after he had heard of the competition and wanted to know more about it.

While she couldn't say if the national television show had any impact on the number of people attending the events over the weekend, she said it certainly made the festival stand out.

'I know it gave us a lot of notoriety,' she said.

With the film crew shooting a lot of video over the weekend, Eschak said she has no idea what Rendezvous events will end up on the March 7 program.

The Rick Mercer Report may showcase Rendezvous to the rest of the country. However, the six Rendezvous Queen candidates proved themselves to be excellent Yukon ambassadors in the weeks leading up to and during the festival, said Eschak.

Tanya Schmitt, Miss Yukon Travel, was crowned Rendezvous on Queen Saturday night with Ceci Twigge, Miss Nuway Crushing, becoming first princess. Janine Lowe, Miss Capital Hotel, was named second princess and Miss Congeniality.

Meanwhile, Keith Jacobsen and Jordan Kulicki Maverick and Goose 202nd Airborne from the 202 Lounge were knighted as the 2006 Sourdough Sams.

In second place were Mitch Meda and Gerry Wiens Meechk and Gone Caribou All Stars from the Caribou Lounge, while in third place was Warren Battaglia The Green Machine from the Royal Canadian Legion.

Sam candidates receiving honourable mentions were Jonathon Leger J-Sam from Lizards Lounge, Gerald Budzinski the Chic Geek from the Capital Hotel, and finally Kevin Sweeny and Gord Uttley the Mackenzie Brothers from the Discovery Lounge.

The annual air show was also a popular event with the party being held at the Legion this year rather than at Jack and Myrna Kingscote's home due to the many people who showed up.

Eschak praised the Kingscotes for organizing the air show and getting all the 'flyboys' in town.

'They really have put us on the map,' said Eschak.

Her praise also went out to the hundreds of volunteers who came out over the course of the weekend to help out, some staying into last night to take down the Bell Zone tent, which provided a place to warm up and be entertained over the weekend, and clean up.

'Hats off to all the volunteers,' she said.

Among the winners of other contests hosted throughout Rendezvous were:

• Business decor contest:

Best business under 10 employees Wines by Design

Best business over 10 employees -Royal Bank

Best dressed male employee all Royal Bank male employees

Best dressed female employee all Edgewater Grill female staff

Best decorated window Erica's Restaurant at the Whitehorse Airport.

• Dog howling:

1st Molly

2nd Bob, owner Roger Gillies

3rd Boogyloo, owner Monika Melnychuk

Results weren't available for the Snow Carving Challenge, One Dog Pull, Corporate Challenge, Rendezvous Parade nor the Photo Contest.

With the 2006 edition of Rendezvous wrapped up, Eschak said the society will now set it sights on incorporating Rendezvous into the 2007 Canada Winter Games festivities next year.

Rather than hosting a traditional Sourdough Rendezvous festival next year, the group will work to bring Rendezvous to those attending the national sporting event being hosted by the city.

Eschak said the society has incorporated Rendezvous into other events throughout the year in the past.