Let the good times roll (or sled): Aspen welcomes first annual Art Cart Alpine Rally
Aspen Historical Society, Krueger Collection/Courtesy photo
For those folks in the valley who have been around long enough to recall Aspen’s Art Cart Derby from the 1980s, they’ll be the first to tell you it was all about having a good time. In fact, people like Harry Teague will tell you it was about fun first and safety third.
“It was really fun, my vehicles, for one, just the process of making them was really fun,” he said. “The sides of the road were packed several deep; it was the nature of the community in the late ’70s, early ’80s, everybody knew each other and this was a major fun event.”
Aspen Special Events is gearing up to revive the time-honored tradition by presenting the first annual Art Cart Alpine Rally from 5:30-8 p.m. on Feb. 10 at the Aspen Recreation Center sledding hill.
Special Events Assistant Manager Wesy Amour-Cook said that the idea to reinvent the wheels of the popular derby was suggested during a city council meeting. Since then, she and her team have been busy carving out ways of making the event a little safer while still maintaining the nostalgia and small-town camaraderie vibe.
“We are changing around events that we oversee here at the Special Events department this year, and we are especially focused on our community,” she said. “We no longer need to bring tourists to town for events or races; instead, we need to focus on our community. This will be a free, winter community event that is meant to ignite some fun creative competition, feed the public, and incorporate some interactive art.”
One of the main differences between the Art Cart Alpine Rally from its origins in the ’80s will be the fact that teams will be assembling their carts with skis, snowboards, or sleds as opposed to wheels. The event will feature a kid’s category for ages 16 and under, as well as an adult category for ages 17 and older. Prizes will be awarded for the most creative and the fastest of the art carts presented.
Teague, a valley resident for over 50 years, can still recall the thrill of flying down the steep decline of Aspen Street at speeds of 35 mph with nothing more than a wing and a prayer that you were going to be able to bring yourself to a complete stop before tumbling onto Main Street.
He works as an architect in Basalt these days, but back in the early ’80s, he resided in Lenado near Woody Creek. Because of the lumber yard history associated with the area, Teague said he used that as inspiration for his carts by designing giant logs equipped with bicycle wheels. From 1980 to 1982, he competed in the races, taking second place the first year and winning first place for speed the following two years.
But while winning certainly had its appeal, as Teague will tell you, it was far from the highlight. Back then the weight limit of the carts was 750 lbs, and from brakes to tires and everything else, the cart had to stay intact for up to six separate races. He said most carts would barely stay in one piece after the first race, but watching carts fall apart was often far more entertaining than watching them finish.
He recalled a story of a friend of his, Travis Fulton, building a cart out of a coffin one year and painting the sides to resemble a hotrod. He said Fulton had purchased his wheels for the coffin from the National Soapbox Derby, the only trouble was the wheels were made of plastic.
“He (Fulton) talked this beautiful woman into driving it, and on the first run, she went down the hill, got up to speed, 30 mph or so, but got scared and put on the brakes, which quickly melted those plastic wheels,” he said. “The rims and wheels came off, and the coffin slid down the road and luckily slowed down a little bit before it hit a tree. After hitting the tree, the top completely burst off and sent that beautiful woman toppling right out.”
Or if it wasn’t the spectacular crashes, then the other major attraction was the creative, and often humorous, lengths people would go to make their carts be noticed. Teague recalled a time when another friend, a fellow architect by the name of Tom Wells, built his cart in the form of a gigantic female breast with a translucent nipple he could see through.
And when asked about the rumors of drunken debauchery associated with the races of yesteryear, Teague will innocently reply, “Really?! Alcohol?! Back in those days? Amazing.”
Now nearly in his 80s, he’s not entirely sure he’ll be participating in this year’s newly revived event, but within the same breath he adds, “you never know.”
“I don’t quite know what the rules are, whether any of the carts I had would be even legal in the new race,” he said. “It really was so much fun, nobody was ever thinking about the other side at all. That was the wonderful thing, that it was of its time and of its time, as I said, was safety third.”
Though the ’80s races were very much of their time, the city’s Special Events department has worked hard to ensure that this latest spin on the classic will be of its time, as well. As part of the department’s commitment in doing just that, they’ve partnered with the Red Brick Center of the Arts to host a Creative Happy Hour on Tuesday, Jan. 23, from 6-8 p.m. to give folks a chance to work on their carts before the big day. More information can be found at redbrickaspen.com.
Additionally, there will be an interactive art projection mapping component the day of the races on the grounds of the Aspen Recreation Center featuring Denver-based artist Sara Minerd (Lucia).
The races are a free event taking place outdoors, so the city would like to remind folks who wish to attend to dress appropriately, as well as utilize the free RFTA bus service to the Aspen Recreation Center, as parking will be closed to the public and reserved for participants and vendors only. There will also be food trucks in the recreation parking area along with a DJ, starting at 5:30 p.m.
For more information and to read the rules and regulations, visit aspenspecialevents.com/art-cart-alpine-rally.
To reach Jonson Kuhn, email him at jkuhn@aspentimes.com.
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