Half-hearted Kinetics Doesn’t Feel Right

Maybe I just don’t understand the true history of Kinetics. But when I heard there’s a revived effort underway to hold the event, I was excited. That is until learning the event will not feature the popular race around Boulder Reservoir.
For the uninitiated, each year for a long, long time, teams have built human powered crafts that could be raced on both land and water. It’s been the feature event of what had become a multi-day festival throughout the city. Many crafts were built with clever themes and included teams with costumes to match.

After losing sponsorships a few months back, the event was canceled. Those who loved the quirky race were left with a hole in their hearts.
It was a grand event, but one that was hurt by corporate sponsorship. Charging for tickets and trying to showcase national bands seemed to ruin a good thing.

It started as a grassroots gathering.

While a return to grassroots form to save Kinetics should be lauded, the simple parade down the Twenty Ninth Street mall on May 3 will feel like an empty attempt.

There’s talk of unofficial events at the Boulder Creek. Let’s hope that pans out. If not, just let Kinetics die.

Boulder doesn’t need a parade—it needs the unique event to live on in full form, not watered down.