Watch: 12th annual Kinetic Sculpture Derby, an energizing day in Kensington

Incessant rain didn’t keep neighbors inside at the 12th annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby.

Incessant rain didn’t keep neighbors inside at the 12th annual Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby.

The crowds gathered around the mud pit as the moving sculptures barreled through in a battle for the title. Nearby the arts festival on Trenton Avenue, vendors sold food and crafts, from Polish Perogies to glass jewelry. Pets in raincoats reveled in the smells.

“Are you ready to get splashed?!” shouted organizers before the competition, as the crowd of hundreds drank local brews around the pit.

“The teams are judged on their engineering and creativity of costume, which ranged from Pacman to trash man this year. The object of the competition is to get through the mud without getting stuck. The teams are also scored on their costumes, and there’s a special prize for “best breakdown” in the mud.

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First district Councilman Mark Squilla served as a judge this year, and bragged that events like the derby and the neighborhood’s art scene are what make the district the most popular in the city. “The creativity and the ability that it brings to the communities that they move into, really energizes that neighborhood, and allows more people to feel comfortable and really to be part of the whole growth of the city.”

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