Dog lover/Blogger Karyn Zoldan first reported about this new challenge on March 15 (click here).

Temperatures supposed to be high of 78 degrees tomorrow (not exactly Alaskan Iditarod weather, but just about right for Tucson). I’m just re-announcing it for those of you who missed it the first time (with some updates):

The Great Tucson Iditarod Race:
April 1, 2012

You are invited to enter a shopping cart race in which teams of from 2 to 5 people tie themselves to a dressed up shopping cart, and manage their outrageously costumed-selves down the sidewalks of downtown Tucson.

Description
This is an urban adventure, with a shopping cart tied to your waist or being hand pulled. Mushers and “dawgs” must have a theme, and be in costume to support that theme. The races are fun competitions, but are not based on speed, or who gets to the finish line first. Racers wear costumes of the absurd such as Spanish bullfighters, javelina astronauts, favorite vegetables or fruit, puppies, or human pinatas.

Teams can be used to advertise their charity, their business, their school, their class, their program, their singing group, their church, their golf team, their class, their neighborhood, their office, their yoga group, their family, their brand, their politics, their dance class, etc.

There must be a musher riding in, or on, the cart at all times. Team members can switch at their discretion. The event will be video documented and photographed along the way. At the end of the race, 5 teams will be chosen and awarded $100 each in prize money. All ages welcome to participate.

Iditarod: (pronounced: Eye-DIT-uh-rod)

History:
The most famous Sled Dog Race in the world was the Iditarod which ran 1160 miles through the roughest and most beautiful Alaskan terrain. Mushers and dogs raced through fierce mountains, frozen rivers, thick forests, and desolate tundras.

The Present:
The Great Tucson Iditarod is tougher still. Mushers have to brave the U of A Mall, University Avenue, 4th Avenue and it’s perilous underpass, Congress Street, and Sixth Ave, only to end up at the center of the world: The Tucson Food Truck Roundup, if they survive their frostbitten journey.

The Race:
The race occurs on April 1, 2012, April Fools Day. There is no exact start time. Each team starts between Noon and 3pm, but at a time of their choosing. Check in at Bentley’s House of Coffee and Tea, 1730 E. Speedway.

Smart Mushers Register Beforehand:
Not necessary, but it will help all of us.
Entry fee: $30. Payable on Paypal (pay dinnerwareartspace@gmail.com), or check, or cash, day of the race. Get last minute updates before you set out on your journey. The race ends at the Tucson Food Truck Roundup at 5pm. Five, $100 cash prizes will be awarded at 5:30pm.

Along the way, you have to check in at certain stops. Each stop will give the team something to take with them on their journey. Those items must be presented at the end of the race. Some items may be small. Some may be large….

Start at Bentley’s, 1730 E. Speedway, then mush through the UA Mall to
-Time Market, then
-Skybar, then
-Xoom Juice on Congress, then head to the finish line at the Tucson Food Truck Roundup, 76 E. Sixth Street.

Awards: Clever theme selection, amazing costuming, animal decoration, artistic and crazy, award because the judges just loved them.

Preparing for the race:
Get a shopping cart. Where? Use your imagination, but a lot of times rejected shopping carts reside behind super markets. Just sayin. Shopping carts can be ‘adjusted’ to fit your needs including chopping them up. But keep the wheels on. Get your friends together, create some fun costuming, and you’re good to go. As always, be safe and be legal.

Iditarod stops are subject to change.
Guidelines subject to enhancement.
Award categories may be added or adjusted.

For updates:
http://www.tucsonfoodtruckroundup.com/Tucson_Iditarod.html

Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Tucson-Iditarod-Race-April-1-2012/348140168539406

Created by
David Aguirre
Dinnerware Artspace
520-869-3166

Yow — this sounds grueling, to push or pull a shopping cart (without dogs) in the hot Southwest desert sun at high noon on Sunday April Fool’s Day! The route goes from Bentley’s at Nob Hill near Campbell, through the UA Mall along University Blvd., then down 4th Avenue through the underpass to downtown Congress Street, up 6th Avenue, and finally to Benjamin Plumbing (N. 7th Ave & E. 6th St.) Maybe only fools need apply?

I think I’ll just meander along this concrete pathway on a bicycle, sans the shopping cart. And don’t forget that the fun Food Truck Roundup starts at 4 p.m. (where the race ends), and goes to 8 p.m. I wonder if you can hitch your husky dog to a shopping car for good luck (and help pulling?)

At the end of the race, 5 teams will be chosen and awarded $100 each in prize money.
Be there to see who wins!

4/1/12 update: photos of 1st Iditarod race on April Fool’s Day 2012 (click here).

Info from a flyer handed to me at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade and from the MoCtoberfest website:

Saturday March 31, 12 noon to 12 a.m. April Fool’s Day
Mercado San Agustin, 100 S. Avenida del Convento, Tucson (1/2 mile west of I-10, SW corner of Congress St.)

This is supposedly an April Fool’s Carnival “with some of the best performers, artists & musicians in benefit of the All Souls Procession.” The schedule of performances is online at their website.

Workshops and Demonstrations

Flight School-balancing acrobatics, Tucson Circus Arts-Poi Club and Aerial demos, Orbital Evolution-Hooping,

Entertainment

Vox Urbana, Golden Boots, The Missing Parts, Salvador Duran, Marianne Dissard, 20,000 Strong Men, GSol , Trima Muzicante, Mamaxé & Planet Djembe, Professor Paul, Rudy Cortese’s “Living From the Heart”, Kate Fritz, Saturnalia with DJ Carl Hanni and sommelier & magician Kenny Stewart, This Group of People, Orbital Evolution & Elemental Artistry, Flight School, Wonderfools, Anarchestra, Brass Pandemonium, and FLAM CHEN and Friends will open the Sideshow of the 7 Deadly Sins in the evening.

Arts Vendors

Cutie Pie Accessories, Bonnie Behan Art, THE RED ANT, Fire Mecca, Quasimodos Sisters, Elksong Jewelry, Kim Kei, The Altergirl, Flower the Clown, Two Groovy Sisters LLC, Mole Dona Vicky, Wandering Star, Emily Ann Jones Photography, Artesenia Mexicana, and more TBA.

Food Vendors
Guerrero’s BBQ, Foodie Fleet, Animal Farm, Cyclopsicle, Isabella’s Ice Cream, Ceviche, Agustin Brasserie, Breezeway Bar, Taqueria el Pueblito, la Estrella Bakery, San Agustin Trading Co, Taxco Silvera, Sonoran Sno Cones, Dolce Pastello, la Cabana, Margy’s Jams, the Mesquitery, Many y Matate, Chilttepica Salsas

Beer

Nimbus Brewery, Queen Sol from Flagstaff (waiting on confirmation) and “home brew” enthusiasts will be doing tasting & workshops on “How To”. Commercial brewers will be on site to do tastings as well-

Beer/wine
Music
Demonstrations/workshops
Mustache-Competition
3 Stages
Sideshow-arena
DJs
Art-sale
Whiskey-Breath Burkesque’s Booty-Tsunami & Gender “Blurd” Fashion show (?)
Dance classes

$20 all ages, kids 12 & under free
$14 presale tickets available 24 hours at Shot in the Dark Cafe, 121 E. Broadway (or online at the website).

Potential guest: Camilo Lauro of the Mexican Institute of Sound

Website www.moctoberfest.com Email contact is moctoberfestival@gmail.com, phone 520-461-1110 x 8 or 520-203-1093.

Sounds like a lot of revelry planned for the onset of April Fool’s Day, 2012.

Community Walk for Mental Illness Awareness 2012

Saturday, March 31, 2012
Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium
2500 E. Ajo Way

5k Walk (3 miles)
Shorter route available (1 mile)
*It is not a requirement to walk in order to participate.

Registration Begins: 7 AM
Program Begins: 8 AM
5k Walk Begins at 9 AM

No Registration Fee; fundraising encouraged.
NAMI Walks accepts donations up until 60 days after Walk day which is by May 20th!

Dogs are allowed as long as they do well in crowds. Water for dogs along walk route as well as a doggie treat table at the stadium.

With all the publicity regarding shooter Jared Lee Loughner since the Tucson Tragedy mass shooting of January 8, 2011, NAMI has been hard at work trying to raise awareness and assistance for the mentally ill in Southern Arizona and nation-wide.

2012 Honorary Chair is Ron Barber, former District Director for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (and now Democratic candidate for that CD 8 House seat).

More about this walk, so to www.namiwalksaz.org, or call 520-622-5582, or write to NAMIWalks@NAMIsa.org.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. NAMI has over 1,100 affiliates in communities across the country who engage in advocacy, research, support and education. Members of NAMI are families, friends and people living with mental illnesses such as major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder.

All proceeds from NAMIWalks will be used to fund NAMI’s programs which include support, education, advocacy and the encouragement of research involving mental illnesses. We anticipate the continued growth of NAMIWalks in the years to come.