PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Thousands of people attended the 15th annual Kensington Derby and Street Fair Saturday. The mud flew while people paraded their homemade vehicles through an obstacle course.
The event takes place on the border of Philadelphia’s Kensington and Fishtown neighborhoods.
“The Kensington Derby is like a big art show, festival-type thing where you build your own like kinetic sculpture,” said Zachary Sparrow of Fishtown. He explained they’re basically bike sculptures, and the costumed drivers maneuver them through obstacles courses.
“It’s man-powered, and you go to the streets of Kensington and then you end up with a big mud pit,” he said.
But there are rules as the bikes fly through the obstacles.
“So you have to be street legal, which means you have to be able to turn, you have to be able to stop and go at least three miles per hour,” detailed Kae Anderson, director of operations for the Fishtown District, “but our obstacles are pretty tough, especially the mud pit.
Fishtown resident Chris Nappi participated for the first time this year. His contraption resembled George Washington’s boat crossing the Delaware River.
“It’s just inspiring; everywhere you go, you're like, oh my God, that's amazing. This is amazing. And then everyone else is just building you up and building each other up,” he described. “So it's a really wonderful place for everybody to just cheer for one another.”
A costumed Ben Franklin, also known as Antony Bolante of Kensington, rode a bike decorated as the Ben Franklin Bridge through the mud pit.
“This is like a feat of PVC and cardboard,” said Bolante.
Marc Collazzo, executive director of the Fishtown District, said events like the Kensington Derby show the beauty of these neighborhoods.
“It's not just what people think regarding the opioid epidemic and all those things. There's a lot of good things that are occurring here and this is a great way to show off the neighborhood,” he said.
Anderson echoed his sentiments. “I want people to know that there's amazing restaurants, businesses that you can come and shop at here in Kensington, and there's a great community that's lively and artistic and really doing great things for the city.”
For Nappi, events like the Kensington Derby show what Philadelphia is all about.
“It's just such a great opportunity for all the weirdest people to come together and be as weird as they can be,” he said, “and let their freak flags fly and show off all of their creative juices.”
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