2008 Kinetic Sculpture Race: Hippie-Hippo. Ken Beidleman, pilot...
Red White and Blue Racer... The Patriot Act!
Duane Flatmo's Viking Boat made out of muffin tins, bundt cake pans and pineapple upside-down cake pans...
Duane Flatmo's Viking Ship is constructed out of muffin tins, bundt cake pans and other silver colored kitchen supplies... It had mechanical difficulties and no matter how much he beat on it with a hammer it did not launch... He seemed to be in a good mood anyway... and it was such a pretty sculpture!
2008 Kinetic Sculpture Race- Deadmans Drop in the Sand Dunes near Samoa...
The Planet Earth sculpture is called "One sick Mother" and the globe turns to show a band-aid... The Ganesh Taxi has some KRSNA art on the back...
The Glory Hogs sculpture about to go over the edge and down deadman's Drop...
pushing Ganesh Taxi... Note lovely top hat on Race Official...
The Ocean in the background...
happy people at the race... smiling... and those silver/red chicken hats!
pulling the Glory Hogs thru the sand...
Cow bounce machine... note Cowboy hat on the people next to machine, they are the racers and support crew...
Blues Brothers... That silver tube above sculpture is not part of the machine, it's just a parked tanker truck...
June Moxon's crew strain to prepare the Mechanical Chicken for Launch...
June Moxon's Mechanical Chicken Launches Successfully...
crew assists on dock... She always has the best dressed crew...
Hippypotamus and support team...
Recollections of this year's Race...
Big fun... I walked a long way thru the sand dunes in Samoa (a beach community near Arcata) to watch the race at "DEAD MANS DROP"... This is a really big sand dune that the sculptures have to drive down... sometimes they flip over... The local radio station was broadcasting from the top of the hill... They did live interviews with the racers and played rock music... the race fans often sang along to the songs... especially the classic "Why can't we be friends ? " by an band called WAR...
About 500 people showed up to watch the race and it seemed that everyone was smiling... the weather was perfect... high clouds... that keeps it cool as we marched the vast distance thru the sand dunes... I went as far as the top of the hill but did not go all the way to the beach...
Everyone was so blissed out... "Strangers stopping strangers, just to shake their hand, Everybody's playing in the Heart of Gold Band... "
When I got home Victoria mentioned that I had a sparkle in my eye...
At the race, I noticed that the faces of random strangers appeared to be familiar... you know that feeling? Like, you know that person from somewhere but you don't quite remember where? Total strangers wanted to chat... I have felt like this before... A great feeling of FAMILY... It is present whenever there are gatherings of hippies... Protest Marches, Grateful Dead Concerts and Rainbow Gatherings... and The Kinetic Sculpture Race in Eureka (I have found it) California...
Sunday at the race we saw the launching of June Moxon's Mechanical Chicken. Her crew has the goofy chicken heads... She is one of the Main performers at this event... I interviewed her for a newspaper article when I was on the HSU Lumberjack newspaper staff... The article was promoting and upcoming event/open house at her Kinetic Sculpture Laboratory... I hope that I was able to sell a few tickets for her worthy art... Duane Flatmo and Ken Beidleman builds sculptures there also...
June was written about in this fine book...
"The Sky's The Limit: Stories of Discovery by Women and Girls"
By Catherine Thimmesh Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
I recommend that people read it... stories of women that have accomplished wonderful things... June's voyage in a Kinetic Sculpture of a SHOE from Arcata to Florida is documented in this book. Standing side by side with Jane Goodall and Mary Leakey, June is in good company...
Official Website of the Race:
Barefoot Duane Flatmo pointing with hammer at technical difficulty...
Duane Flatmo assembling wings of Viking Dragon Boat...
One Sick Mutha! the globe spins around when the machine is traveling...