For the Glory! – The Kinetic Sculpture Race

Over the years, Humboldt County has developed the reputation of being artsy, original and just plain wacky. Perhaps the epitome of this is the annual Kinetic Sculpture Race.  Its cancellation in 2020 due to the pandemic, for the first time in 51 years, has been one of the most the most spiritually hard felt losses in a year full of losses.

 The event’s bizarre history goes back to the 1960s, a decade full of norm-breaking. In 1963, the town of Ferndale began a several days long art festival ending on Mothers’ Day weekend. Its aim was to highlight work of the many area artists. Then in 1969, it took on a zany twist.

 Local sculptor Hobart Brown had grown up on an Oklahoma farm where he did a lot of tinkering on farm machinery. By the time he settled in Ferndale, California, he had become a sculptor in metal and opened what he claimed was the area’s first art gallery. In 1969, Brown modified a child’s tricycle into a bright red moving sculpture he called the Pentacycle. He then challenged fellow artist, Jack Mays, to create another human-powered sculpture and join him in a race down Ferndale’s Main Street with the starting line at the Ivanhoe saloon.

 Word got out, and when the day rolled around, a handful of other race entrees showed up. This had been thought of as a one-day event, but it proved so popular that a second year was planned. The event was kicked off by HSU’s Marching Lumberjacks band which added to the festivity and also cleared the route of gawking spectators. Local Navy guardsmen provided security. After that, the growth of the event was epic. The number of entries kept increasing. An overland and over swamp extension from Fields Landing was added.

 Eventually the race course extended up to Eureka and then to Arcata. Legs over dunes and the cold waters of Humboldt Bay were added. The now three-day race required two overnight camps before the remaining participants peddled into Ferndale. The event was moved from Mother’s Day to Memorial Day weekend for greater visibility. Over time, spin-off activities were added including the Rutabaga Ball and the crowning of the Rutabaga Queen and court.

For years, the “Glorious Founder” Hobart Brown in his signature top hat, spearheaded the event while the number of enthusiastic sponsors and volunteers continued to grow. The influx of tourism and happy local dollars around the kinetic weekend became significant to the local economy. Although Humboldt’s “Triathlon of the Art World” remained preeminent, spin-off kinetic sculpture races popped up around California, the nation and the world – in as far-flung places as Poland and Australia.

 There were times of internal dissention and legal difficulties, but the Kinetic Grand Championship weathered them. The entries changed from modified bicycles to elaborate, colorful and incredibly bizarre creations. A kinetic museum opened up first in Ferndale and recently at 518 A Street in Eureka where some of the iconic race entries can be viewed.

 The Humboldt County Historical Society houses an extensive kinetic collection as well, including 13 official scrap book photo albums and five boxes of posters, ephemera and clippings. Everyone who ever watched or participated in a kinetic race, seems to have taken lots of photographs, many of which have landed in the Historical Society’s archives.

 Included in the archives are several books on the subject. One was written by Brown himself, a cross between a reminiscence and a how-to manual for organizing similar spectacles. He concludes with words that should carry us through today as well. “Don’t let the magic die – keep it alive! Keep on going for the glory, in the race and in your lives!”