Best Festival 

click to enlarge

• Photo by Bob Doran
• A crustacean contraption runs the race.

Runner Up: Oyster Fest

Was it the fence? Are you still mad? Because Oyster Fest used to own this category. Then again, Kinetic is one tough, splashy competitor, blending humor, art, engineering, feats of physical fitness, rubbernecking and a good deal of welding in one weekend of daredevil parading. And teams do spend months and months building their clever, clunky and sometimes downright iffy contraptions. By land and by sea, giant metal sharks, huge shoes, pirate ships, and foamy spaceships make (or don't make) the trek from Arcata Plaza, down dunes, across the bay and to the finish line on Ferndale's Main Street. And that is how you pedal, paddle and push your way to No. 1.