Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Clink-Clank, Bitches!

Greetings from Sunny California!

Last Sunday, my friend Tracey and I attended The Great Handcar Regatta in historical downtown Santa Rosa,  about an hour north of San Francisco.
“The Handcar Regatta represents a public celebration of Mechanical Railcar Races, Visual, Culinary, and Costumed Performing Arts combined with an inclusive concept of Community Participation and Human Ingenuity embracing sustainability, alternative transportation, and good old fashioned fun…….
………The railcar races at the center of the Regatta highlights Innovation and Human-Powered Ingenuity to devise cheaper, viable, and hitherto undreamed of methods for bizarre transport beyond the standard notions of to-day. Together with an emphasis on biking, the Regatta provides a platform for playfulness and sustainable concerns within the realm of human-powered alternative transportation.”
In other words, a Steampunk, hippie-hipster nerdfest with lots of local-yocals mixed in.  Stir in tons of sunshine and alcohol for good times J
As a creepy "Steampunk" band plays on, a sweeper cleans the track and watches the madness.
One of the many regattas ready and waiting to race, complete with clink-clanky wings!

A shiny gold airship ready for take-off!

One of the teams prepare their contraption on the track.  Love the matching outfits...so professional!

And awayyyyy we go!!!

AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!

Most of the booths were whimsical looking tents like this.

Random performance art:  "IM MOVING LIKE A ROBOT...IM TALKING LIKE A ROBOT...TIC-TOC...!"


More Clink-Clankery:  A Victorian Camel-Bak?  A portable latte machine?? ...not sure yet.

What bay area event is complete without some trippy, hippy art?!

The kids loved this, btw.

It was fun, but hot as hell.  Most folks were not dressed up at all, but that didn’t stop us from attempting to look our best:
Me, in front of a big-ass bike...trying not to go blind from the sun.

Tracey and Me, feeling refreshed in the shade, after a couple of Margaritas. 

-Kathleen in Oakland

1 comment:

  1. why must every fun event like this require heat? lame. love the pictures!

    ReplyDelete

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