Getting their cars ready for the Kilfynn Soap Box Derby.
PEOPLE of a certain age may remember the ‘Wacky Races’ cartoon show that entertained us growing up.
Well, a village in Kerry has taken it upon themselves to stage their very own version of the show…well, sort of!
The Kilfynn Soap Box Derby is only days away (it will take place on Sunday, March 1 at 12.30pm) at the time of writing, so preparations are well underway for what they hope to be a very successful event and day out for all the family, and one that will be broadcast on Irish TV, channel 191.
TraleeToday.ie got in contact with one of the organisers behind the day, John Byrne to see how the whole idea for the day and event came about.
“We were watching one of the soap box derbies on television, and it came across as something very boring. They were only letting the racers off one at time and it just seemed very slow and tedious,” he said.
“Kilfynn has a natural gradient down it you see, which is very steep and we just thought that we could do far better if we hosted one here and let them [the racers] off two at a time and put them racing against each other,” he said.
This is the first year of the event.
While the event is not being specifically geared toward raising money for charity, John and organisers have decided that any surplus money they have at the end of the event, after insurance and cost has been paid, will go towards the development of Halloween and Christmas decorations for the village.
What can we expect on the day so?
“There will be two people with roving microphones going around interviewing people. We’re hoping to have a screen in the village on the day so that we can broadcast the races live.”
“The format [of the day] is simple enough. We’re hoping to have 64 entries and that will give us 32 races. We’ll keep breaking that down then until there’s an eventual winner.”
There will be trophy prizes on the day for first, second and third place, along with a prize for best turned out cart on the day as well.
Any extra information you need can be found here or by contacting John Byrne on (087) 450 2571.
The organisers have created this fantastic promotional video that you have to watch:
