To spectate the Kinetic Grand Championship, of course!
This kinetic sculpture race goes back the year 1969, when artist Hobart Brown raced a souped-up version of his kid's tricycle in the town of Ferndale, California.
Now, it's expanded into a three-day, all-terrain event — and there are kinetic races in other cities across the country, like Ventura, California and Baltimore, Maryland.
It's called the "Triathalon of the Art World"—but to me, the land, water, and sand races sound more like a Tough Mudder obstacle course.
We spent the night in Arcata and, on Saturday morning, headed to Arcata Plaza to watch the lineup of kinetic sculptures (like the tongue-lapping "Royal Pain and the Rally Kat-cophony").
Normally, the artistic judging and brake tests would start at 10 a.m.—but this year, there were so many competitors, they had to begin an hour early.
Everybody was in good spirits—hanging out "bribes" like stickers, buttons, fortune cookies, and even bracelets to the spectators with hopes of swaying the audience vote.
It was a great chance to see the moveable sculptures up close, like the "Trojan Corpse"...
...like the Reno "Cowsino," a bovine-themed slot machine...
...which won first place in Engineering and Speed, and third place in Art.
Each entrant creates its own theme, like the "Bunny Hopper Helicopter" (which placed second in the Engineering category)...
...the "Hi Barbie!" guy...
..."The Never Ending Glory" (a nod to the race's motto, "For the Glory!")...
..."Clusterduck" (which won the Spectator's Choice award)...
...and "Alice in Chains Wonderland," with its own Cheshire Cat (which was the first to break down after leaving the Plaza, earning it the "Golden Dinosaur" award).
I particularly loved the Apple Pedalers' "Wisdom Tooth" entry aesthetically—but its performance only earned it second-to-last place.
The "FLYtLESS" crew was crowned the Grand Champion of the race...
...which I suppose helped prove their point that humans belong on land (and in water?) and not up in the clouds.
Ghoul Scouts Pine Derby won first place in the Art category and second place in Pageantry...
...but if there had been a "Humor" category, they surely would've won for the possum puppet that popped out of their purple coffin!
My absolute favorite was a bad-ass send-up of The Wizard of Oz: "The Great and Powerful Ozzy," which transformed the Emerald City denizen into a bat-eating, flame-throwing green monster.
That's the one that got my spectator vote—but it didn't end up winning any awards or distinctions.
It was one of at least three kinetic sculptures that featured pyrotechnics—another being the "Half Fast Hedge Riders" (who won third place for Pageantry).
The next day, it was time for the water race in Humboldt Bay—where sculptures like "Clusterduck" and "Royal Pain and the Rally Kat-cophony" survived the plunge into the water and proved they were seaworthy.
All participants have to follow a set of rules for their kinetic sculptures—including keeping them under 14 feet high and 8 feet wide. But making sure they're amphibious is a whole 'nother challenge—no matter how well they did on land the day before.
Some teams have to completely modify their human-powered machines—though many, like "Sparky" (which had been accompanied on land by dogs for adoption), still relied on pedaling.
Watching the sculptures make their way through the Eureka Channel, it started to make sense why so many of them had been aquatic-themed, like the "Deep Sea Disco" angler fish...
...and the "Most Paranormal" category winner, "The Sardine Dream"...
...whose propulsion was due to both pedaling and paddling.
"Brown Chicken Brown Trout" was accompanied by some amplified chanting of their name (you know, like the "wah-wah" guitar sound of an X-rated movie soundtarck).
Fortunately, their rooster didn't have to swim.
"Dolly Spartan" won second place in the Art category...
...and "mPROM2" got second for Speed and first for Pageantry (though the water course didn't feature their '80s prom attendees).
"Plan Bee" didn't win any awards, but they scored points for enthusiasm for hoisting that honey dipper the entire way.
Since there are additional safety issues in the water—and sometimes, the sculptures flip over—there are usually some kayakers on hand to help out (though "Jurassic Clowns" didn't seem to need it).
That came in handy when "Grand Theft Otter" couldn't move an inch in the water, despite all efforts, and needed to be towed.
We didn't witness any other calamity from the Eureka Boardwalk or elsewhere on the waterfront—but apparently the real action is where the sculptures actually enter the water — a.k.a. the water drop (where the "splashdown" sometimes becomes a "crashdown"). Some don't make it past that point.
Related Posts:
No comments:
Post a Comment