Strange, people-powered vehicles will roll (fingers crossed) in Humboldt County

MOVING JUST ABOUT ANYTHING? You can, within reason. Pushing an empty shoebox across a floor feels fairly doable and sliding a cup across a table? No worries: Cups have slid across tables for a long, long time, with utter ease. But creating an enormous, sit-inside artwork that can double as a vehicle, one that lacks a motor but boasts oodles of character, and finding out if it can move, and not only move but move across several miles, including miles that are distinctly moist, is another matter. It's a merry matter that has been enthusiastically explored by the intrepid, can-do makers behind the Kinetic Grand Championship since 1969. The "kinetic" in the name of the event, which is billed as the "Triathlon of the Art World," tells the spunky story: Wheeled artworks, pieces that are powered by humans, are constructed in all sorts of outlandish shapes — think giant shoes, rainbow-hued unicorns, and shiny UFOs — and then humans gamely see if they'll go. But that "go" part is trickier than it might first appear: The three-day showdown takes place on "land, sand, water, and mud," so the marvelous machines must float, too.

MAY 25-27... is when the 2024 event, a glad-hearted gathering, will take playful place. What was formerly a short "dash" in Ferndale — think two blocks — now rambles, stalls, gets stuck, restarts, and pushes forward over 40 miles, from Arcata to Eureka to Ferndale. Spectators are welcome, but this isn't a traditional procession through the heart of a town, one that comes to a quick conclusion within your line of sight. You may catch glimpses of the grand goof-off along the way, and there is a "finish line party" in Halvorsen Park in Eureka on May 25. As lighthearted as this truly Californian lark might appear at first glance, a lot of organization goes into the championship, while talented creatives pour their hearts, souls, and wildest daydreams into the moving sculptures. Humboldt County has so many amazingly Humboldt-y happenings, but this rollicking roll, which has been around for well over a half-century, might be the Humboldt-iest of them all.