Pandora’s Hell Bent Kitchen won the Grand Mediocre Championship Award and Pilot’s Choice Award in the 2019 Kinetic Sculpture Race. Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.
Pandora’s Hell Bent Kitchen won the Grand Mediocre Championship Award and Pilot’s Choice Award in the 2019 Kinetic Sculpture Race. Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.

The American Visionary Art Museum’s Kinetic Sculpture Race will be back in person this year on May 7, when teams will use their people-powered kinetic art vehicles to traverse 15 miles of Baltimore neighborhoods, parks and the Inner Harbor.

The American Visionary Art Museum’s mascot Fifi the dog participates in her 19th Kinetic Sculpture Race in 2019 as she dons a fez and scarf in an homage to the television show “I Dream of Jeannie.” Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.
The American Visionary Art Museum’s mascot Fifi the dog participates in her 19th Kinetic Sculpture Race in 2019 as she dons a fez and scarf in an homage to the television show “I Dream of Jeannie.” Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.

Like many Baltimore events, the race has been on hiatus for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic – although the museum did hold a virtual event last year, when residents were able to watch how miniature model 3D sculptures fared over land, sea, mud and sand.

More than 20 teams have registered to participate in this year’s race. Although the official deadline to enter was April 1, teams can still enter with a late fee if they turn in their entry form to the AVAM front desk by Friday, April 29, at 4:30 p.m. Forms must be dropped off; postmarks don’t count.

Entries can range from one-person vehicles to larger machines with a whole team of pilots.

During the morning of the race on May 7, safety checks and brake tests will begin at 8 a.m. at AVAM, located at 800 Key Highway.

The opening ceremonies will kick off at AVAM at 9:30 a.m.

The route for the American Visionary Art Museum’s 2022 Kinetic Sculpture Race. Map courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.
The route for the American Visionary Art Museum’s 2022 Kinetic Sculpture Race. Map courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.

The race will start at 10 a.m. on Key Highway. Racers will climb Battery Avenue into Federal Hill Park, then travel down Riverside Avenue, Fort Avenue, up Lawrence Street and Key Highway, and around the Inner Harbor. They will then ride down President Street, around the National Katyn Memorial, proceed on Aliceanna Street and down Boston Street to the Canton Waterfront.

Vehicles will enter the water at the Canton Waterfront from 11:15 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tick Tock the Croc swims through the Inner Harbor with help from team members. Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.

Starting at 1 p.m., teams will travel up Kenwood Avenue, right on Eastern Avenue, and left on Linwood Avenue and into Patterson Park from the right side of the park.

Within the park, they will navigate sand and mud obstacles from 1:15-3:30 p.m.

With a hand-pump railcar mechanism, Treez Nuts rides through the 2019 Kinetic Sculpture Race. Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.

Afterwards, they will travel down Lombard Street, Central Avenue, Eastern Avenue, Pier 5, Pratt Street, Light Street, Key Highway, Lawrence Street, Fort Avenue, Jackson Street, Clement Street, and up Covington Street to the finish line at AVAM.

After crossing the finish line, teams will be able to recover after the race until 6 p.m., with dinner for racers and volunteers. The event will culminate in an awards ceremony at AVAM from 6-7 p.m.

Six team members pilot this rotating carousel, called Marys-Go-Round, in the 2019 Kinetic Sculpture Race. Five Marys ride the carousel: Mary Queen of Scots, Mary Poppins, Miss Maryland, Mary with her little lamb, and Bloody Mary. Photo courtesy of American Visionary Art Museum.

For those who want to be part of the fun but don’t want to participate in the race itself, AVAM is still accepting volunteers. Anyone interested in volunteering can attend a meeting on Wednesday, April 27, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Jim Rouse Visionary Center next door to AVAM, on the third floor of the building.

For question about volunteering, email Mavet Rosa at mavetr@avam.org

Find more details about AVAM’s Kinetic Sculpture Race, visit the race website at kineticbaltimore.com.

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Marcus Dieterle

Marcus Dieterle is the managing editor of Baltimore Fishbowl. He returned to Baltimore in 2020 after working as the deputy editor of the Cecil Whig newspaper in Elkton, Md. He can be reached at marcus@baltimorefishbowl.com...