The Kinetic Grand Championship is the art race that floats. (Fingers crossed.) After the pageantry of the Arcata Plaza kick-off and the sandy adrenaline rush of Dead Man’s Drop yesterday, racers hit Humboldt Bay with amphibious ambition today. Mark McKenna’s slideshow below captures the wild and watery action. Stay tuned for news from the Ferndale […]
Kinetic Grand Championship
Posted inArts + Scene
Keepin’ it Kinetic: Day 1
The great rolling circus that is the Kinetic Grand Championship took off from the Arcata Plaza today for the first leg of a three-day marathon of creativity, humor, stamina and daredevilry on wheels. Now in its 47th year, the Hobartian hullabaloo shows no signs of slowing down (maybe we need another brake check) or running […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Her Rutabaga Highness
On Saturday, May 21, the Kinetic cognoscenti gathered for the annual Rutabaga Ball at the Arcata Community Center. There, royal hopefuls competed in lavish costumes, singing, dancing, skating and bribing judges for a chance to join the ranks of the Rutabaga Queens and preside over the impending Kinetic Grand Championship this weekend. The queens — […]
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Kinetic Race Gets Wet, Photographs from the Front Lines
Things got downright damp Sunday, as the Kinetic Sculpture Race’s second day began with the ever feared water entry. Some sculptures launched, where others merely wobbled and tipped, before a lively crowd near Eureka’s Wharfinger Building. The first waves of racers are expected to approach the finish line on Ferndale’s Main Street at about 1 […]
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Kinetic Kickoff, in Photos
The 47th annual Kinetic Grand Championship is underway, with dozens of teams traversing 40 miles of asphalt, sand and water in pursuit of the glory. A trio of Journal contributors — photographers Alexander Woodard, Mark McKenna and Mark Larson — are following the madness. Here’s some of what they’ve shared so far… and be sure […]
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Kinetic Primer: A Photo Essay by Mark Larson
“Kinetics is for everyone,” according to the official rules for Humboldt’s human-powered sculpture race, and Rule A reads, “Amusement is the gift we give and get, so all KGC participants, volunteers, spectators, and innocent bystanders must try their best to have FUN at all times.” This preview guide to the 47th annual Kinetic Grand Championship […]
Posted inArts + Scene
Rutabaga Ballin’
The newest member of the Kinetic Grand Championship court was crowned Rutabaga Queen during the Rutabaga Ball on Saturday night at Redwood Raks Dance Studio in Arcata. Former queens showed up in force and in gilded crowns to welcome 2015 queen Gloria Kiddnetica into their ranks. In case you were trapped in the garage welding […]
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Until Next Year, Kinetic Grand Championship
The Kinetic Grand Championship wrapped on Ferndale’s Main Street yesterday. Humboldt State University journalism professor emeritus Mark Larson, of Mark Larson Photography, was there for the finish. He was also there two days and 40-something miles earlier, when the glorious human-powered machines took off from the Arcata Plaza to embark on a colorful journey across […]
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The Final Kinetic Push
If you’ve missed out on Kinetic weekend, it’s not too late to rush down to Ferndale to catch the racers in their glorious push to the finish line. At this point, their machines are probably a bit waterlogged and sand-whipped after trekking 30-something miles over asphalt, dunes and the chilly waters of Humboldt Bay. And […]
Posted inArts + Scene
“Turn up” at the Rutabaga Ball
Get ready to trip the light kinetic. Memorial Day weekend is just around the corner and Humboldtians know what that means: The Kinetic Grand Championship! Before the peddling and paddling starts, though, Humboldt needs a new Rutabaga Queen. Someone has to reign over the wacky proceedings and it can’t just be anybody. The Rutabaga Ball is Saturday, May […]