Ryan Hunter-Reay recently won the greatest spectacle in racing, but the greatest race in Noblesville will take place at 7 p.m. June 6. The fourth annual Darlington Bed Race, sponsored by the Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville and Noblesville Parks and Recreation Dept., involves racing custom-designed beds on wheels on downtown streets.
“It’s family-friendly and fun for a good cause,” Abigail Rinehart, bed race organizer and unit director at the Noblesville Boys & Girls Club.
For its first three years the Bed Race has been held on the first Saturday of June along with the Noblesville Lions Club Pancake Breakfast, Old Mill Festival and Nickel Plate Arts Weekend events. This year, the event will begin on a busy Friday night.
“We thought we’d try it on a Friday evening. A lot of our teams said it was more difficult to get out there on a Saturday morning because of their businesses,” she said. “With it being on Friday evening, we’re hoping to have more teams participate and a bigger crowd.”
Other changes include the number of participants per team (four or five instead of five) and the location has been moved from Logan Street to Ninth Street.
“It has changed and grown over the years,” said Rinehart. “More people understand what the bed race is. It definitely has a positive reputation. From the responses we heard, people look forward to going there and being a spectator.”
Rinehart said team applications are still being accepted but space is limited. Participants must be ages 16 or older.
“Some use the event as teamwork building, some are groups of friends. Everybody has different reasons for being out there besides supporting the cause,” she said.
Participants will help provide youth summer camp scholarships for both the Boys & Girls Club of Noblesville and Noblesville Parks and Recreation. All of the proceeds are split evenly for financial need scholarships for each program.
“For some, the summer costs really hurt the family budget. The youth really need something to do for the summer. As long as they are involved in something, it’s better than nothing,” Rinehart said. “The scholarships save the families.”
For more information, call 773-4372 or e-mail [email protected].
