It’s been two years since two dozen cars flew down Unity Park Hill in the 7th annual Montague Soapbox Race. The day was a success – there were no major injuries, a couple thousand dollars were raised for the local parks department and plenty of trophies were handed out.
But last year, the race was mothballed. Relying heavily on devoted organizers, schedules didn’t line up in time for the next race, says Mik Muller, president of the Northeast Soapbox Association.
This year, bike wheels bolted onto wood or metal frames will be rolling again.
“It’s awesome. It's like what they call in school … the STEM thing: science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and you add art in there, and becomes a STEAM project,” he said. “So, why doesn't every school around have something like this to teach the kids how to get their hands on, you know, metal and wood and fabrication and just create something and climb in and go down a hill.”
Standing over a metal frame with a John Deere lawnmower seat and four bike wheels attached to it, Muller was in Brattleboro, Vermont, over the weekend, helping lead a soapbox car building workshop.
It was a partnership between his group’s race and the upcoming “Kornguth's 9th Annual(ish) Soapbox Derby” being held in town on Aug. 9.
As Muller tells it, the races can lead to anything from a glorified cardboard box on wheels to a fast-as-a-bullet trike to what a group of Western Mass. students recently whipped up for him.
“This particular cart was actually fabricated at the Franklin County Tech School's welding class, led by John Passiglia, a friend of mine,” Muller said. "I sort of dragged him in, I came to his house with four, old kids' bikes and said, ‘What can your kids make out of this?’ and he brought it, and the kids in his class welded it together, and then handed it over to me.”
Also fabricating Saturday was Kevin Daley. He could be seen cutting intricate, long wooden boards that will likely be a car’s sidings. He also had a detached wheelbarrow tub that could end up being the seat.
One idea floating in his head: a car resembling something you might see in Mario Kart, complete with bananas meant to be tossed and, hypothetically, slip-up opponents while heading downhill.
Given the cracks already in the tub and the speed of heading down the course at Exit One Industrial Park, the final product might not be long for this world. But, that doesn’t bother Daley.
“It's just fun – you’ve just got to find something and just go with it,” he said, noting Saturday’s was the fourth or fifth car he’s made for the event. “It doesn't really matter, you know? It doesn't matter if it falls apart – that’s kind of half the fun: the ones that don't make it!”
Echoing that was Kornguth himself.
Daniel Kornguth says the August race is all about inclusivity. Workshops like on Saturday are meant to foster creativity and prepare people for a derby that’s done some growing up over the years.
“Well, we started this in '05, and it was … kind of guerrilla,” he recalled. “That first year, we got in trouble with the cops. But I mean, the cops were actually cool, but they were just like ‘Dude, you just got to get a permit to close the road’ and ‘Don't do that.’ And my dad was like ‘Oh, and you got insurance, right?’ I'm like, ‘Eh…’ so I also went and got some insurance for the event… and so it's a little bit more legit now.”
Both he and Muller agree – you don’t have to be a racer by trade to get in on the action.
“It's a subculture that is spread out – there isn't any one type of person. A person that makes a soapbox derby car could be a bank teller, could be a CEO, could be a carpenter, could be y… a street urchin. But, what I think is the binding glue is this idea that ‘I actually can do a thing with my hands, even if I don't have the knowledge or skills.’”
With the race's Kickstarter calling the derby "An Inclusive, Interactive Community Art Event (posing as a thinly-veiled Soapbox Derby)," organizers for the Brattleboro race say anyone wanting to race can simply show up Aug. 9 and register by 10 a.m.
Montague's requires a little more advance notice - the entry deadline is Sept. 23 at noon, with the race slated for Sept. 27.
