kinetic sculpture race - arcata, ca

in arcata today,

the noon whistle blew

as it does every day.

but today's whistle signalled

the start

of the 42nd annual

►kinetic sculpture race◄

a 3-day race

along the roads and beaches and waterways 

of northern california.

the race is held every memorial day weekend,

beginning saturday on the arcata plaza

and ending monday in downtown ferndale.

(photos are mine from 2007)

here's ned watching the race in 2007 (he was 2):

i lived there for many years

and this unbelievably cool race

which fuses

art

and

engineering

and

sustainability

and

full-on wackiness

is the pinnacle of the creativity and diversity

that defines life in arcata.

please

click here

 to check out the official website

with live streaming video.

a few things you need to know

about the kinetic sculpture race:

1. all machines must be solely human-powered

2. some of the teams spend all year building their machines

3. there is a kinetic sculpture museum in ferndale

4. there is a rutabaga queen

5. machines & teams are judged based on criteria such as:

kinetic thrills, humor, theatrics,

glory, crowd appeal, and bribes for the judges

6. there are 7 pages of rules (click here to read them).

one of my favorites is this one:

Since mothers are discouraged from running alongside,

racers must carry a comforting item of Psychological Luxury

no smaller than a restaurant coffee cup at all times.

An old security blanket (your "binkie", or whatever you called it!),

a soft teddy-bear or sock doll will suffice.

"Teddy Bears" are highly recommended
or an unreasonable facsimile thereof.

(please note: the name of the race has been officially changed to

"kinetic grand championship" for some complicated legal reasons.)

♥