Mush You Dawgs!
What’s a CHIditarod? “It’s a food drive, a race for charity, a beauty pageant, a bar crawl, spontaneous street theater, and not for the faint of heart. It’s fast, furious, cold, creative, exciting, and very, very fun,” according to their website.
The CHIditarod is an annual urban charity shopping cart race that winds its way through Chicago’s West Town and Ukrainian Village neighborhoods. The date coincides with the Alaskan Iditarod® dogsled race.
In this race, shopping carts replace dogsleds. Teams consist of five people; four pull the cart (“dawgs”) and one directs the cart (musher). Each team has a unifying theme for their cart and costumes.
Every team must arrive with at least 69 pounds of donated food. Since its inception in 2006, the CHIditarod has donated over 257,419 pounds of food and more than $653,779 in donations to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Over one thousand participants and spectators watch the race every year.
Race Day
Many of you ask if my wife accompanies me on my photo outings. She generally doesn’t, but last Saturday was going to be an exception. Friends Deb and Win Wehrli were going to join us and drive together downtown to experience the CHIditarod.
Unfortunately, my wife Christine came down with a nasty upper respiratory infection and had to stay home. Luckily, the Wehrlis were adventuresome enough to join me on this adventure anyway.
Nasty weather doesn’t stop the CHIditarod. Their philosophy is “There is no bad weather, just poor wardrobe choices.” We lucked out as Saturday was warm and sunny. We wandered the one-block fenced-off “yard” on Market Street west of Justine where the participants assemble for the start of the race. It was a great opportunity to meet and chat with the participants.
Deb Wehrli, a CHIditarod dawg, and Win Wehrli
My favorite team was the Dilly Parton cart that was passing out pickle samples to anyone who wandered by.
The Dilly Parton Team
Most of the participants were…interesting.
These three probably sampled adult beverages pre-race at the Cobra Lounge behind them
A few other teams caught my eye as well.
The Pleasure Paradise Team
Team 67
N'awlins Bourbon Street-style jazz music was provided by the CHIditarod Band.
The Trombone Player
Even spectators came dressed for the occasion.
You’re never too young to see your first CHIditarod!
Two of the more interesting spectators wandering the yard
The Shot
It was difficult to pick one photo for the Friday Photo. I finally settled on this picture of the start of the race. It seemed to capture the manic wackiness of the event.
Please let me know if you plan to enter next year’s CHIditarod. Fame and fortune surely await you as a 2024 Friday Photo feature.
And if you can’t put off being famous until next year, meet me at the Villain Arts Tattoo Festival on the 17th of March at the Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois. You’re only a tat away from becoming a Friday Photo headliner!
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus