VAN WERT — When the Main Street Van Wert promotion committee began looking for events for the first Harvest Moon Fest, they did not “waste” any time coming up with a good idea.
Outhouse races will be one of the feature events, and everyone’s entries became official with judging and inspection Friday night. The races will take place at 10 a.m. today on Central Avenue.
“We were looking for something fun and something we could grow every year,” said MSVW director Adam Ries. “We were looking for a unique idea.”
Outhouse racing, though new to Van Wert, actually take place at several festivals and have thousands of participants nationally. Rules vary from competition, but generally any competition has rules to ensure the whole outhouse look is preserved. Registrants checking in Friday were required to have their outhouses weigh at least 200 pounds. They could have no gears, pedals or motors. The height had to be 72 inches and the width could be a minimum of 36 inches and a maximum of 48. And of course, each privy needed to be fitted with a toilet seat and a roll of toilet paper. The outhouses are on wheels and teams of three to five people will compete by pushing a fellow team member in the outhouse 150 feet to victory.
The victor will receive the Golden Throne award along with a cash prize, along with cash prizes for second and third place racers. Awards will also be presented for best decorated, most innovative materials and ugliest. A people’s choice award will be selected by spectator voting. Racers used their creativity, with one military-themed outhouse reading “pee all you can pee” and another displaying the proud name “Tin Roof Throne.”
Ben Cully, of Van Wert, said he themed his toward military because he works with a lot of veterans. He said he was also taking the chance to spread awareness about suicide awareness among veterans. He said 30 veterans on average would have committed suicide during the time it took him to build his outhouse.
“This is just to have a good time,” Cully said, “but I wanted to use it as a chance to raise awareness about what is happening with our veterans.”
The event will also feature a chili cook-off competition after the races.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
