Kinetics playtime! Saturday Wanna-Be Parade, Rose Hips Ball; Sunday race

Kinetic kontraptions cruise along the water course in last year's version of the race. – Leader file photo

Formal attire (with a Kinetic twist, naturally) is advised for “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” the theme of this weekend’s 23rd annual Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Skulpture Race.

“We’re looking forward to a great weekend, and we’ll have fun even if the sun comes out,” says Janet Emery, Kinetic High Priestess for Life.

Seventeen skulptures had registered as of Tuesday morning, including one from California and two from Oregon. “In reality we’ll probably have in the 20s, so it will be a competitive field,” Emery notes.

Register your skulpture by calling Emery, 379-4972, at her Kinetic Koffee Kompany on Kearney Street in Port Townsend.

Kinetic skulptures must be human-powered and kapable of traversing paved roads, navigating Port Townsend Bay from Tyler Street beach to Monroe Street, the Kwicksand at Fort Worden State Park beach, and the glorious Dismal Bog mud pit at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Kinetic racers and fans must be kapable of having fun without taking the event too seriously. Mediocrity is prized – so the skulpture that finishes in the middle of the pack wins the highest award. (more)

CBBC 2 Cover 23rd PT Kinetic Skulpture Race

Kinetic Skulpture Race gets moving this weekend

"PORT TOWNSEND -- Only in America does a pizza get to your house faster than an ambulance.

Only in America do people order a double cheeseburger, large fries and a diet Coke.

And only in America do banks leave the doors open and chain the pens to the desk.

And only in America can you see 12-year-old Gabe Montgomery of Port Townsend ``Go for the Glory'' in the Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Skulpture Race.
Or, if you live in the United Kingdom, on a CBBC children's television program.

``The name of the show is `Only in America,' '' said Michael Bittman.

``They mainly want to focus on teams with kids on board.''

Seven-mile course

Bittman is Kourse Kommissioner for the race -- we're in the krazy world of kinetic phonetics here -- that pits homemade, human-powered vehicles against a grueling, 7-mile course over water, sand and mud.

This Sunday, a film crew from Britain, along with the pop-culture celebrity hosts of the show ``Only in America,'' will be in town to capture the excitement of this annual excursion into counter-culture transportation.

``It's kind of cool,'' said Janet Emery, Kinetic Skupture Race president, of the international exposure.

``We have other big festivals, but it's the real home-grown event that brings them in.''" (more)



2005-09-28
by JENNIFER JACKSON

RESOURCES

Plot Summary for
"Only in America" (2005)
Reggie Yates teams up with CBBC presenter Fearne Cotton as they set out on a road trip to America in a Chevy convertible. The pair go in search of the "weird, wonderful and downright unbelievable" in the US from prom queens to cowboys from Arizona to Florida. Only in America is a BBC production. (imdb)

PT Family Portrait is 11:30 a.m. Saturday

The Port Townsend Leader OnLine: "The 20th anniversary of the original Port Townsend Family Portrait is marked with a new photo this Saturday, Oct. 1. Port Townsend Main Street Program invites the public to assemble at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at the intersection of Water and Tyler streets downtown. David Conklin and Elizabeth T. Becker will snap the portrait promptly at 11:45 a.m.

Water Street closes to traffic at 11:30 a.m. The 23rd annual Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Skulpture Race "Wanna Be" parade begins at noon at the U.S. Bank parking lot and proceeds toward Point Hudson."

Autocanoe

Autocanoe


The Autocanoe Is a Pedal Powered Amphibious Recumbent Tricycle and a Roadable Pedal Canoe! The configuration is that of a Recumbent Tricycle with the two forward wheels driving and the single rear wheel steering both on land and in the water. It can travel over the road and through the water with comfort and grace. Transitions from land to water and back are accomplished smoothly and seamlessly without leaving your seat. (more)

WATCH MOVIE (avi)

PTRace2000 - I participated ...

PTRace2000: "This weekend I participated in the Port Townsend Kinetic Skulpture Race. This race is an annual event, this year was it's 18th year. The race is designed and built after the original Kinetic Skulpture Race started some 30 years ago by a man by the name of Hobart Brown. He built a tricycle of sorts in his living room, hoping to design it in such a way that would allow it to ride over land and through water, and thus the race was started. Now every year people gather at the various official kinetic skulpture races that are held around the world to race their creations against each other. Since the original plan of making the skulpture able to go through water and across land, many of the races now also have an additional portion. In some places, it's a length of sand dune, in Port Townsend, it's THE DISMAL BOG. This year there were 22 entries in the race, and each of us had to be able to tackle not only the road and water portions of the kourse, but also THE DISMAL BOG. THE DISMAL BOG consisted this year of about 2 feet of standing water on top of some truly horrible muddy mud, with bits of hay bales and other odds and ends floating in it. It was a pretty good DISMAL BOG.

So the story goes like this: Last year I went to the race, and watched all these amazing contraptions constructed to be able to handle the complexities of the kourse. There were a wide variety of displays of ingenuity and creativity, and a subsequently wide variety of designs implemented. Some of the kinetic skultures were as follows:"

click title to read more

The Port Townsend Leader: Kome play with Kinetics! (2004)

The Port Townsend Leader OnLine: "'Karnival' is the theme of this weekend's 22nd running of the Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Skulpture Race.

Twenty to 25 skulptures - human-powered kraft capable of traversing roads, water, sand and mud - are expected from at least three states and Canada.

'My phone's been ringing off the hook with skulptures coming, and the weather is going to be nice,' says Janet Emery, Kinetic High Priestess for Life. 'This could be our biggest ever.'

Another planning meeting is set at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30 at the American Legion Hall downtown to recruit and train event volunteers for the Oct. 2-3 kinetic events. People for the safety boat patrol are particularly needed. A short-bed trailer is needed to serve as a portable stage.

For more information, call Emery at 379-4972 or visit her at the Kinetic Koffee shop on Kearney Street." (more)



Wednesday, September 29, 2004

Kinetic Skulpture Race Video Blogging WorkShop Saturaday 2:30ish

A Video Blogging WorkShop will be held at Digital Port Townsend (215 Taylor Street, 2 doors down from the historic Rose Theater) for digital camcorder attendees of the 23rd Great Port Townsend Bay Kinetic Skulpture Race on Saturday October 1 around 2:30ish.

Digital Port Townsend has a Microsoft Media Center PC connected to a Optoma DLP Projector, a Kenwood surround-sound receiver and two tower Athena speakers.

The Video Blogging WorkShop will be held after the parade (noon) and the Brake/Floatation Tests.

The focus of the workshop will be to show attendees that participate in the two-day video blogging kontest how to shoot and upload video to the internet.

Port Townsend Kinetic Sculpture

Kinetic Skulpture Race
October 01, 2005 - October 02, 2005
STARTS: Low Noon
LOCATION: Port Townsend, WA

A Kinetic Skulpture is a human powered, artistically-enhanced vehicle that must race through mud,sand,roads and float on water.The Mediocrity Award is the highly prised award, the racer that finishes in the middle of the pack.

SPONSOR: The Kinetic Konsortium
CONTACT: Janet Emery
PHONE: 360-379-4972
E-MAIL: lou@kineticrace.info
WEB SITE: http://www.kineticrace.info