After securing a few Pinewood Derby car kits for colleagues, I teamed up with my friend, Kelso Davis, to create an imaginative entry for a charity Pinewood Derby event. The concept for our racer was a section of the Earth's crust taken from the ground below, and including, the "Sasquatch! Festival" (a staple Pacific Northwest summertime music event).
We stayed up late, covered our hands in glue and paint, and won the first heat! The proceeds from the charity event went to Mercy Corps NW, an organization that "finances change through microenterprise."
Conceived the concept.
Laminated two Pinewood Derby blocks together to make a taller car body.
A friend snuck me into the University of Oregon School of Architecture machine shop to do some cutting.
Landscaping.
Kelso and I painted sections of the Earth's crust onto the car's side surfaces, and we added grass and asphalt to the top. Here's a tiny man for scale.
Kelso booked a band for the show.
People started showing up! Strangely enough, they were all named Brad.
I brought some blankets. There's one for our Alma Mater, Rochester Institute of Technology, and our favorite [American] football teams. He supports the New England Patriots and I've always been a fan of the Green Bay Packers.
Here's a shot of the crowd. It's really starting to fill up!
The view from the blankets.
Here's Kelso putting on the finishing touches.
"I'm with the band"
Dropping off our finished Pinewood Classic entry at Portland restaurant Meat Cheese Bread for official weighing and storage until the main event: the Pinewood Classic at Nemo Design in Portland, Oregon, USA.
The race is on! This is another heat, but check out our winning run below!
