Kinetic sculpture race
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The Kinetic Sculpture Race has been an annual event in Ferndale, California since 1969. It began when local sculptor Hobart Brown "improved" the appearance of his son's tricycle, and was challenged to a race down Main Street by Jack Mays. Soon, another twelve machines entered to inaugurate the first race. Neither Hobart nor Jack won; instead, the first winner of the Kinetic Sculpture Race was Bob Brown of Eureka, California.
In this context, kinetic sculptures are cross-country, human-powered vehicles made to go on sand, water, pavement and other surfaces encountered on the annual 3-day World Championship of the sport held on Memorial Day weekend (last weekend in May) in Humboldt County, California.
[edit] History
During the 1970s, the race adopted its present three day, cross-country format and became the "Triathlon of the Art World." Machines were built to take on mud, sand, water, gravel and pavement as well as some of the steepest hills in North America. Stan Bennett's Book "Crazy Contraptions" covers the history of the first five years of the race.
Many of today's most notable racers started in the early 1980s. Muralist Duane Flatmo, metal sculptor Ken Beidelman, and artist June Moxon raised the bar for Kinetic art. The latter two took a human powered pair of vehicles across the United States, from Humboldt County to the Gulf of Mexico coast and beyond. The three have worked as a team on Junkyard Wars and other artistic endeavors spawned by the race.
At the 80s ended, the new sponsor was a water company, and the race began to adopt a more family-friendly approach. Another local company which made luggage racks and car storage boxes became interested in the race and recruited racer/designer Ken Beidelman to build a vehicle for their company team. The financial support of the two corporations, as well as one sponsor's creation of the Arcata Kinetic Lab, took the race to a new level of art and engineering. Ken's 83-foot-long sculpture called "Nightmare of the Iguana" was the longest ever raced.
As the 1990s ended, the race entered middle age. Many of its contestants were born after it started. They have grown up under its wacky philosophy, "Adults having fun so children want to get older," as coined by Hobart Brown (b. 1933). Hobart was given the title "Glorious Founder of the Kinetic Race" by acclamation sometime during the 1990s.
As age and his crippling arthritis limited his activities, Hobart sold the race rights, the kinetic chicken logo and the trademark "For the Glory" to a new not-for-profit agency, called the Humboldt Kinetic Association in 2002. They maintain the traditions of the race and a group of Hobart-appointed seers will continue to keep the Glorious Founder's vision alive even after he is no longer able to do so. Eventually, it is hoped the race will make enough money to benefit the entities which contribute their board members to its direction. At present, they are still volunteers.
[edit] Competition
The official race course covers 42 miles, crossing both Humboldt Bay and the Eel River as well as a series of dramatic sand dunes called "Dead Man's Drop" and the feared Eel River exit, "the Torture Track."
Unfortunately, changing economic realities have caused the luggage rack company to move and the water company to stop their support. With no major sponsor and three years of Humboldt County budget cutbacks due to California state budget difficulties, even this most generous of local communities has had difficulty contributing more to the race than its operating funds.
But the race continues in fine Humboldt County tradition. Art, engineering and physical endeavor come together in the goal of our founder who said, "(We're just) adults having fun, so children want to get older!"
