Skip to content

Rikomatic

Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff

Menu
  • Follow Me on Instagram
  • My Professional Site RangerRik.com
  • Yehoodi.com Archive
  • Every Roller Rink in California (Map)
Menu

Getting Steampunky at the Handcar Regatta

Posted on September 26, 2011 by

Rik with handcar at Handcar Regatta 2011

My friend Jeskat and I headed off yesterday to catch the Great Handcar Regatta in Santa Rosa, California.  Centered around a race on old railroad tracks of a crazy assortment of human-powered vehicles, the Handcar Regatta has grown over the past four years into a huge festival of steampunk-inspired fashion, vehicles, artwork and more.  

Walking among the elaborately costumed participants in a dusty, ramshackle environment felt like being on the set of the TV show "Firefly." 

steampunk ship at Handcar Regatta 2011

We unfortunately got there a little late to catch most of the actual handcar races. But we got to check out a lot of the amazing vehicles up close.  Clearly a lot of creativity and ingenuity went into creating these conveyances.

Handcar at Handcar Regatta 2011

Lots of artisans and merchants had stalls selling everything from hand-made clothing to books and artwork. Jeskat couldn't resist buying some jewelry to accentuate her already stunning outfit. 

Jeskat at Handcar Regatta 2011

There was a bunch of live music all over the place, bands performing for free-spirited, costumed revelers.  I got my dance on to a wacky marching band, playing everything from Michael Jackson to waltzes.

Marching band at Handcar Regatta 2011

It was a fun, inspiring day among hundreds of creative and friendly folk.  I'm definitely coming back next year!

See a few more of my pics here.

 

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A History of the Jazz Split

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlfLr9YmMJU

Recent Posts

  • Thoughts on Learning and Skating
  • The Voice (poem)
  • Toy Train in a Tin
  • Bucket List Complete: Visiting All the Disney Theme Parks!
  • Highlights from 2025 Tokyo Trip

Categories

  • Books
  • Cats
  • Civil Society
  • Creative Writing
  • Dancing / Music
  • Education
  • Family
  • Film
  • Food and Drink
  • General
  • Health
  • Information Society
  • Machinima
  • Media Reform
  • Music
  • New York
  • Politics
  • quotation
  • Real World Places in SL
  • Science
  • SF Bay Area
  • Television
  • The Spirit
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • United Nations
  • Virtual Worlds
  • Web/Tech

Tags

b-boy (76) breakdance (51) breaking (26) brooklyn (36) charleston (11) competition (11) dance (17) dancing (30) documentary (15) education (21) festival (12) frankie95 (16) frankie manning (52) frim fram (10) fundraiser (10) global kids (70) hip-hop (31) human rights (11) inaug09 (11) jazz (12) ken swift (10) lindy hop (144) lindyhop (23) lowcarb (18) lxd (11) macarthur foundation (12) machinima (22) memorial (14) mermaidparade (22) mtv (13) performance (16) poetry (11) popping (11) quaker (27) recipe (38) rockclimbing (16) second life (81) shim sham (15) skating (70) soul music (14) swing (52) swing dance (45) virtual world (19) virtual worlds (29) yehoodi (46)
© 2025 Rikomatic | Powered by Superbs Personal Blog theme