Perhaps you've seen them? Cars painted outrageously, covered in curious artifacts or simply rearranged into a shape no auto has been before.
Art cars have limitless manifestations.
The Sashimi Tabernacle Choir car visited here from Texas for last year's Seattle Art Car Blowout (SACBO). An engineering marvel, Sashimi features dozens of synchronized rubber Billy Bass and lobsters that "sing" the "Hallelujah" chorus and "Bohemian Rhapsody."
M.S.B. is the name of Extremo the Clown's two-story vehicle, a sculpture made of resin that features gargoyles and a working fountain.
The Red Stiletto, the Aero Car and the Radio Flyer draw stares wherever they go.
The World's Largest Collection of the smallest replicas of the World's Largest Things travels in a converted school bus and gives visitors an education, as well as the shock and awe generated by most other art cars.
X-dress
Is there anything crazier than art cars? Well, the kick-off SACBO fund-raiser might qualify.
The sixth-annual Cross Dress Bowling (X-dress) - to take place at Sunset Bowl on Sunday, April 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. - will make as many heads turn inside the bowling alley as outside in the parking lot.
The idea for X-dress started 10 years ago, when friends held the event "for pure fun" according to Jim Simmons, at the University Bowling Center. Jim and Luke McGuff borrowed the idea to raise money for SACBO and moved the event to Sunset.
One year, they tried shifting the event to the Garage, a bowling alley on Capitol Hill. An apparent benefit, private use of the downstairs lanes, actually proved to be a liability.
"It's so much nicer when you get to mingle with the local flora and fauna," Jim said of dressed-up men in unfamiliar skirts and suited women with painted 5 o'clock shadows bowling amidst leagues and families. "A lot of the fun is the interaction. The most-fun moments happen in the bathroom."
If you've strolled the SACBO art-car display at the Fremont Fair, you know the friendly, festive atmosphere these artists create with their vehicles.
Gathered together, the art-car community's all-inclusive and welcoming attitude gives X-dress a celebratory feel from first to last.
Part of the annual pilgrimage to the bowling alley is a deliberate attempt to meet and mingle among non-car artists ("cartists") and to spread cartist fever.
Celebratory efforts
Bowling is only a small part of the event. Some participants do bowl, while others focus on play-acting and exploring their alter-egos.
Afterward, the crowd adjourns to the bar for an uproarious awards ceremony.
"Trophies usually outnumber the participants," Jim admitted.
The categories range widely. "The Janet Jackson Wardrobe Malfunction Award" and "The Oh My Gawd" (for the gaudiest costume) focus on attire.
Several awards recognize bowling prowess, or lack thereof. "The Get a Grip" is subtitled "the pins of mass destruction (PMD) were right under your nose" and goes to the bowler who threw the most gutter balls.
"The Master of Mischief" recognizes the participant "most likely to be an evil clown at your next party," while "The Queen Pin" only says, "we could tell you what this award is for, but then we'd have to kill you."
A trophy making party takes place a week before the event. Artists who enjoy attaching beads, action figures, dice, McDonald's toys, refrigerator magnets, coins or corks to their cars revel in an opportunity to rearrange or outfit trophies.
The flamboyant display of awards at X-dress almost outshines the outrageous costumes (and behavior) of the bowlers.
While X-dress is all for fun, adult beverages and risqué jokes do feature into it.
"It's not for the kiddies," Jim advised. "Leave 'em at home. We're not anti-child. SACBO is family-friendly, but that doesn't mean our fund-raiser has to be.
"It's Artist's Night Out," he explained. "You can go regular bowling 364 days a year. Once a year, you can put on a dress and drink beer with friends."
Fun, but little funds
This event puts the fun in fund-raising, but for all its creative and colorful splendor, the fund part struggles. Participants pay $15 to play, in addition to shoe rental, and past events raised only $500 toward the cost of SACBO.
Taking place June 17 and 18 this year during Fremont Fair weekend, SACBO attracts art cars from all over the United States and Canada and is the third-largest gathering in the country.
With skyrocketing gas prices, SACBO organizers conservatively budget $5,000 to reimburse cartists what they spend traveling here, although Jim jokes that "a cool mil" would be nicer.
If you don't want to bowl, or cross dress, a music benefit is planned for sometime this spring. SACBO also takes donations through Pay Pal on its website, a great place to learn about other fund-raisers, art cars and the Blowout: www.seattleartcars.org.
A brighter, wackier Seattle
While the cause isn't one of tears or gnashing of teeth, this is about art for Seattle and Fremont.
During Fremont Fair weekend, the Seattle Art Cars Association will make our streets brighter, wackier and much more interesting. Cartists will display their efforts of time and talent that most of us couldn't begin to imagine and wouldn't begin to create.
On April 23, we get to bowl and bump elbows on their behalf, with smiles all the while, and those opportunities don't come along often enough.
Kirby Lindsay drives Cammie, an urban camouflage 1974 Beetle, as decorated by her late husband, Leonardo. She invites your comments at fremont@ oz.net.
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