IT’s Kinetic

Jessie’s having a very parental week. Last weekend her dad flew in for a visit (during which he not only attended his first ever major league baseball game, but also ate his first pupusa) and as soon as our intrepid blogger finishes persuading her cat that she’s not being replaced, her mother will arrive. It just so happens that this maternal visit coincides with the Baltimore Kinetic Sculpture Race, an event Jessie has been dying to attend since moving to D.C. And so, 16 hours after she flies in from Montreal, IT’s grandmother will be whisked north via Amtrak for a day of sculptural shenanigans.

Jessie’s kinetic sculpture obsession is all the fault of chief researcher Marilyn Terrell, who attended the race fours years ago and has been talking about it ever since. Her descriptions of the amphibious human-powered sculptures and their be-costumed handlers competing for eight hours on a 15-mile course of pavement, water, sand, and mud immediately set Jessie’s mind racing, but for the last two years she hasn’t been available on the weekend in question. This year, while the rest of her friends are living it up Cinco de Mayo-style, she’ll be watching with glee while a turquoise anteater challenges the mud-maneuvering abilities of a giant frog and the Cake on a Lake competes with La Kafkaracha for the Next to Last, Best Bribes, and Worst Honorable Mention awards (among others). If you’re as excited as she is (or have been waiting for your opportunity to stalk a blogger), you’ll want to spend a little time with the spectator’s guide. See you in Baltimore!