“I went much faster than I could,” said Marshall, 35, noting that he reached 35 miles per hour at halfway through. spilled. “ Then it was off, at the wheel of a wooden box made to look like a graffiti-lined delivery truck on a skateboard chassis. It was the first of 57 beautifully designed and brightly decorated strollers that marked the return of an event last held in 1978. It was then that the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art ceased operations after just two scenes and without serious injuries. The happy crowd got what they needed all these years as a crazy easel of comfortable, home-designed strollers, their names that match their physical behavior – “Puff the Pastry Dragon”, “Carrot Car” and more – with in turn let gravity take them on a route that had not been paved since the 1970s. They came with turns and potholes and a speed bump in the middle of 10%. Despite the attention to speed, this was not a frontal race or even a time trial. The crisis was in various categories, including “slower”, “less serious”, “better than worse” and “car that looks worse after a collision halfway”. The contestants descended on the march with seven people, passing by a speaker booth where Kumasi Aaron, morning presenter on KGO News, and Pendarvis Harshaw, presenter of “Rightnowish” on KQED-FM, called for action. “The ‘Hairy Eyeball’ is coming,” Harshaw announced as the second contestant flew down with his eyes wide open. “Rolls. It does not slow down. “ The “Carrot Car” followed. “Smooth moving vegetables, baby,” he said. An artistic car called “Hairy Eyeball”, created by John Casey, leaves the starting line during the SFMOMA Soapbox Derby in McLaren Park, San Francisco. Photos by Jana Asenbrennerova / Special to The Chronicle “We love SFMOMA. We love art cars. We love McLaren Park. That’s why we’re here, “said Hillary Clark, who came from Berkeley with her husband Eric Johnson and their two daughters, Miriam, 6, and Beatrice, 9, to set up a blanket. and two sunbeds. The other reason they were there is that Stella Lochman, SFMOMA’s public engagement manager, found a video of the last bar of soap in the museum archives. This discovery was made in 2009. It took a long time to realize as creative demand was created. An open call for applications took place in January. Art students and art collectives were invited. Forty-six received $ 1,000 bonuses, including a group of 13-year-olds calling themselves Robot Wolves. At first they thought they would design their entrance to look like a bottle, then they changed it to a baguette before ending up in a patisserie called “Puff the Pastry Dragon”. “It was many hours of papier-m .ché in my front yard. “A lot over and over again,” said Ellery Clem. “We made it for someone our size. “then we discovered we were too young to drive it,” said Josie Andre. All the way, Alina Martinez, the creative mind behind “Olmec”, made to look like a Yucatan god, wore a captain he received from the Giants’s gift on Saturday. “We were working until 3 in the morning last night, when we got drunk and quit,” he said. “Everything has to work,” said chief engineer Kyle Moreno, unconvincingly. “We have a helmet.” To make sure everything went smoothly, Sheri Sternberg, executive producer of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival, was hired to oversee the event. Bradley Gottesman rests in the stroller of the Soapbox Derby after his ride on the hill in McLaren Park in San Francisco. SFMOMA restored the derby for the first time since 1978. Jana Asenbrennerova / Special to The Chronicle “I would like to believe that it is becoming normal,” he said. “This park is underused.” Not on this day. There were food trucks set up along with Shelley Drive, a Derby Hat competition and music at the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater. The free community event followed Friday night’s Art Bash at the museum, the major annual fundraiser expected to bring in $ 2 million. Sunday’s event was to thank SFMOMA supporters. North Face helped sponsor it. “What an amazing creativity from so many local artists and such a large turnout at this wonderful community event,” said SFMOMA Board Chairman Bob Fisher, who hugged the rail with all the other spectators, with his grandson on his shoulders. for a better view. “It’s a very happy day in San Francisco.” The judges have long haggled over the winners in categories such as the “cutest wipeout”. One of the first favorites for this was Marshall in the delivery truck soap box. “I will drive the brakes down without shame,” he said of his pre-race strategy. It worked. Maybe very well. It arrived just before the finish line. From above, Lochman, the organizer of SFMOMA, who happened to be his girlfriend, was watching. As the Soapbox Derby began after more than four decades, he said: “It’s the best day of my life.” Also a great day for the Robot Wolves, the 13-year-old team. Their designated guide, Rob Yung, took “Puff the Pastry Dragon” in one piece. They received the judges’ award for “least assembled” and the frugal design team used just $ 700 of the $ 1,000 grant to create their entry. They thought of handing out the remaining $ 300, but decided that this would not be in the spirit of teamwork. “We’re going to have a pizza party,” Josie said. Sam Whiting is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @SamWhitingSF
