By Lisa Duckers
Staff Writer
Every Fall, the color orange is everywhere in downtown Manhattan Beach as residents from the South Bay come together for family fun and pumpkin racing in the 20th Anniversary of the Pumpkin Races.
The event also featured several booths supporting charitable causes.
“Our 20th Anniversary was the biggest and best year we have ever had. I am always blown away by how many people show up every year for such a goofy event like this,” co-creator Karl Rogers said.
The pumpkin races were created in 1990 when Rogers and his friends John Holliday and Michael Aakar decided to spend Rogers’ birthday differently than they normally did. When the three friends stuck some axle wheels onto a couple of pumpkins and pushed them down the street, a tradition that would last for years was born.
“I thought it would be a lot of fun to build a few pumpkin racecars with wheels and axels so my friends and I could race them,” Rogers said. “I knew we could never get the axles perfectly straight so there would be plenty of crashes.”
Until a few years ago, the Pumpkin Races were held every year outside Holliday’s home in Manhattan Beach. Then in 2008, the city approached the creators with a proposition about making the races a city-wide event to share with all of the residents.
“The races were so popular that the city officials wanted to share the excitement with everyone and move the races to downtown Manhattan Beach. They were also a bit concerned about the growing number of people,” co-creator Holliday said.
Although the possibilities may seem endless, there are a few rules that the racers have to follow when building their pumpkin race cars. These rules include not using any pyrotechnics or pumpkin relatives.
There are always racers who try win by cheating, but it has become an anticipated tradition.
“Fifty percent of people come to the races to see the cheaters. They are a very important part of our festival,” Holliday said.
For those racers who decide to cheat, their racecars cars are punished by the head referee and taken out of the race.
Each year there is also a designated capital-C “Cheater” pumpkin whose legacy goes back into pumpkin race history.
“One year a friend of mine showed up with a rocket-powered pumpkin and won the race. I knew I would never be able to beat him with his fancy rocket stuff, so I decided to ban rockets from the race forever. He ignored the rule and at that moment everyone started to call him ‘The Cheater’,” Rogers said.
Along with the races, awards are given out near the end for Best Crash, Best Team Spirit, Best in Show, Best Creativity, and many other categories.
“My favorite part is seeing everyone’s pumpkin race cars lined up in the award showcase. They are brilliant displays of creativity and innovation,” Rogers said.
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