Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby (Philadelphia)

[Henry@NKCDC]

Its true, there is a derby in Philadelphia, we don't go in the water (yet), and we don't time participants, in fact we discourage passing, its more of a parade than a derby. It is a hell of alot of fun though, our course is 4.14 miles over city streets, through a park, down a long Belgian block street, and through a mud pit in the middle of an art festival. Were working to encourage more "old school" neighborhood residents to participate as a means to bring old and new residents in a slightly gentrifying section of Philadelphia together. Our sculptures do tend to focus on design and aesthetics more than anything else, its a parade more than its a race. Heres where you can find all the info http://www.kinetickensington.com/about

It would be really cool though to have participants from other derbies participate in our event with their vehicles as a means to getting people in this neighborhood to start to think about water, and other possibilities. Consider this an invitation.

BTW - for those who know her, the legendary Kathryn will lead our parade again this year!

Some of our returning teams past sculptures;
Frank's Kitchens http://www.frankskitchens.org/;



Kids from a local after school group;


Its different, its less competitive as a race and more competitive with respect to art, and its in conjunction with an awesome neighborhood festival and art show, The Trenton Avenue Arts Festhttp://trentonaveartsfest.blogspot.com/, in short its a party not to be missed.

[Eggroll]

As much as I love a good race a Kinetic parade has plenty to offer. Check out this sister event in Imola Italy (http://www.carnevalefantaveicoli.it/home.php). I sent them a number of photos from the Kinetic Museum archives back in 2004 and they created a display to showcase human power around the world. Their focus is on recycling and human power with a dash of fun thrown in, but who could resist the extra fun of a good bay soaking?