Four brave teams entered the inaugural Great Tucson Iditarod race today, April Fool’s Day in Tucson, under bright sunny skies, a bit of wind, at about 78 degrees F. I was there to witness some of these teams check in at the starting line at Bentley’s House of Coffee & Tea at Nob Hill (1730 E. Speedway, west of Campbell).

The 4 teams that competed for $100 prizes (in order at check in):

1) “3 Blind Mice” (Rena Ikeda, Wendy Martin, Ben Young, Ruben Moreno, and child Sabin Enos -riding in the cart). Ruben is a local artist whom I’ve blogged about before (click here). “Farmer’s wife” Rena (photo below) had a large carving knife to cut off the 3 blind mice’s tails as in the nursery rhyme.

2) “The Dive Bar” (Tesa Mayorga, Mari Galup, Mamta Popat, Jessica Kranz, Elva Dela Torre, all taking turns riding in the shopping cart). They even had snorkeling (dive?) equipment attached, along w/ a bar for drinks/cocktails.

3) “Divinity by Design” (Christina Russell, Angelica Russell-Johnson, Enid Moore-Cranshaw, Kimiko Crawley (in the cart), Tileka Russell). This family team name was derived from their websites –Tileka website’s: www.Design-Amazing.com, and Enid’s: www.divinitysalonaz.com.

4) “Nessie & the Cryptids” (Sarah Trainor as “Jackalope”, Ben Harper as “Trunko”, and Chris Perez as “Amazing Bat Boy”). Probably the most unusual entry of legendary land & sea creatures.

Photos below courtesy of Audrey Dela Rosa and more on their Iditarod Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Great-Tucson-Iditarod-Race-April-1-2012/348140168539406

"Farmer's wife" Rena Ikeda with knife to chop off mice tails

Team "Three Blind Mice" getting ready to start the race

Serving cocktails by "The Dive Bar" team

"The Dive Bar" team leaving Bentley's starting line on Speedway

Athletic "Divinity by Design" team at Bentley's

"Divinity" team members enthusiastically start off jogging

Shopping cart "Nessie" being unloaded

"Nessie & the Cryptids" Team of 3

I bicycled along the route from Bentley’s Coffee shop down to the UA Mall on University Blvd. and over to Time Market, where I witnessed team # 3 “Divinity by Design” overtake team #2 “The Dive Bar”.

According to organizer David Aguirre here’s the order of the teams as they came in at the Food Truck Roundup finish line: 1) “Divinity by Design” 2) “3 Blind Mice” 3) “The Dive Bar” and 4) “Nessie & the Cryptids”. Monetary awards were presented at 5:30 p.m. today to all 4 teams at the Food Truck event near Benjamin Plumbing.

Congratulations to Dinnerware Artspace director David Aguirre for creating this 1st time event in Tucson. And congratulations to the 4 teams of enthusiastic, hardy entrants for finishing the race & for their creativity in designing their shopping carts.

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).

The next Tucson Food Truck Roundup will gather February 6th, at the parking lot of the Tower Theatres in Marana, 5-9pm.

(Go to MyTowerTheatres.com for directions: Cortaro Exit/IH-10 Tower Theatres,
5755 W. Arizona Pavilions Drive, Marana, AZ.)

And here’s a great photo of the last roundup in Tucson on January 29, taken of Roy Chamberlain (courtesy of artist Mel Dominguez who participated in the event):

For more information on this Food Truck “Revolution”, go to www.foodtrucks.com., or contact David Aguirre at Dinnerware Artspace at dinnerwareartspace@gmail.com.

My blog on the last wildly successful/popular roundup which I attended on January 29 — pictured above (click here). I also went to the very first one on November 10, 2010, and now there are 5 or 6 times are many truck/wagons participating. Lots and lots of people seem to enjoy standing in line chatting with others, while waiting for food service, prepared fresh in those trucks.

Trucks scheduled to attend on Feb 6 – updated list from comment below (descriptions from David Aguirre):

`D’s Island Grill Jamaican Food
`Jamie’s Bitchen Kitchen (cuban sandwich and more)
`MaFooCo (Korean Tacos, Kimchi Tacos)
`Jane’s Rolling Wok (chinese gourmet)
`Pin-UP Pastries (whoopie pies and more tasty treats)
`Seis Curbside Kitchen (Mexican gourmet)
`Street Kitchen
`Animal Farm
`Espresso to the Rescue!
`Vero Amore Neapolitan Pizza
`Isabella’s Ice Cream (5:30pm arrival)
`Guero Loco’s Bubba-Que
`Trucking Good Cupcakes (now you’re talkin’)
`The Patty Wagon (tasty burgers)
`Red Pepper Mexican Gourmet (tacos and more)
`Robdogs (hotdogs, soy dogs, all the trimmings)
`Street Delights (pie, pie, pie)
`Ni Hao Amigos
`Baja Tacos (seafood from the Sea of Cortez)
`Stolen Recipe BBQ (omg, delicious)
`Jerid’s Roasted Corn (corn on the cob, on a stick, with hot sauce)
`Jones Street Bistro
`Jake’s Donuts and Funnell Cakes
`German Food Station (Brats! The way you like them.)

80 chairs will be provided but you can bring your own as well. Food (but not drinks) will be allowed into the theatre for movie viewing. Yappy Hour: Dogs on leash welcome.