The Cleveland Urban Iditarod
Fun with shopping carts
By John Benson
In America we have a penchant for turning the absurd into cherished tradition. For instance, there are bathtub races held every year at the Geauga County Maple Festival and La-Z-Boy chair racing in some other parts of the country.
So please keep your eye rolls to a minimum when you read the following about the inaugural Cleveland Urban Iditarod, which finds Northeast Ohioans trading sled dogs and a sled for, well, yeah, a shopping cart. Each team of five will feature four people in front pulling the cart while one person, naturally, “mushes” from behind.
What in the wide, wide world of Pick ‘n Pay and A&P is going on here? Cool Cleveland found out by talking to event coordinator Aaron Erb of The YoyoSyndicate – yes, the same Aaron Erb who is partly responsible for the Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art Show events at the Beachland and the holiday Santacon affairs – about the fundraising fun planned for Sun 4/1 throughout The Flats and Ohio City.
(NOTE: The event was originally planned for Sun 3/4 but they’re holding back a month to encourage more people to register. Think this event looks cool? Register now! Or it may be cancelled altogether… and we don’t want that to happen. Also note some of the locations mentioned in the interview may change… check the official website for updates. And, register!)
Cool Cleveland: Shopping cart races through Cleveland in the wintertime. Sounds like a no-brainer.
Aaron Erb: This is the first year in Cleveland. It’s an urban shopping cart race, and we’re tied into the Cleveland Food Bank and the Harvest For Hunger campaign. So teams of five usually dressed in costume are going to be running around Ohio City going from bar to bar, location to location. We have a little contest at each of the bars and they have to cross the finish line with at least 40 pounds of food. How they cross the finish line with 40 pounds of food is up to them. They can carry it with them the whole time, they can stash it in their car at the finish line, they can run at the grocery store and buy it before they crossed the finish line.
Where exactly did you get the idea for an urban Iditarod of sorts?
It started in 1997 in San Francisco, and Portland has been doing it for quite a few years. They’ve got 150 teams of five running through the streets. Boston and Cincinnati has been doing it for a few years. We’re hoping to scrap about 30 teams together.
Are the carts being pushed in the street or sidewalks?
I believe the streets. The city sees us as a parade. We will have security and patrols on bikes keeping teams in line and to the side of the streets. We’re going to start in the Flats at McCarthy’s Downtown and go as far as Happy Dog and the after party will be at Market Garden Brewery.
Ah, so it’s a beer crawl?
Some people will be drinking, some people not. It’s not really a beer crawl, it’s more of a race with destinations. We’ve got some churches that are involved. We’ve got some teams together. It’s more of an adventure race that has stops at bars and if you feel like having a beer, you may.
Is there a racing component for each shopping cart team?
There’s a race aspect to it. We’re timing people from point A to point B. At each of these events there are contests. We’ll have an eating contest. We’ll have a teen dance contest. They get graded on those so at the end there will be an awards ceremony, best costume, best cart decoration, best dance routine, most food raised and stuff like that.
As with Santacon you keep cherry picking event ideas from all over the country and giving our girlfriends, wives and significant others ideas for us to do fun things as a couple when we could be spending a lazy Sunday in our shopping-cart free home donating money online to charities from the safety and warmth of our couches.
I’m just looking for things that are successful in other cities and for some reason aren’t happening here in Cleveland. I feel we should put them together. Why I’m doing it? Just to have fun and to get Cleveland’s creative community together. This is the first time we’ve done something for charity so there’s a little bit of that aspect too.
We’re guessing after the lame-stream media picks up on this it’ll become an annual event, right?
Yes, that’s the plan. That’s the plan we have and the plan the Cleveland Food Bank has too. They’re just as excited as we are. I’m very optimistic. It seems to take off kind of the second and third year, and it’s a hard story to tell – a shopping cart race through the streets to the city and to the people that are doing it. But I think once people see what it is it’ll be something people look forward to.
The event takes place on Sun 4/1 IF enough people register. So… register now! Team registration is $65 ($100 day of race) with a $35 deposit required for the shopping cart. For more information, visit http://TheYoyoSyndicate.com/mush. [Photos from Chicago’s Chiditarod]
Freelance writer John Benson spends most of his time writing for various papers throughout Northeast Ohio.
When he’s not writing about music or entertainment, he can be found coaching his two boys in basketball, football and baseball or watching movies with his lovely wife, Maria. John also occasionally writes for CoolCleveland.com.
2 Responses to “The Cleveland Urban Iditarod: Register now to save this event!”
Aaron Erb
Just to clarify team registrations Prices.
As of now team registration is $45 PLUS a $35 Cart Deposit (You get the $35 back when you return our cart we give you or you prove to us you took it home) We don’t want carts littered across Ohio City.
After a certain point….Still to be determined….We will ask late entering teams to pay $65 to enter PLUS the $35 deposit.
First 30 teams all get FREE Urban Iditarod t-Shirts from JakPrints.
Jeanie Bittence
What time does this event start?