{"id":124412,"date":"2026-02-05T22:26:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T22:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/124412\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T22:26:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T22:26:12","slug":"idiotarod-brings-back-mayhem-madness-and-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/124412\/","title":{"rendered":"Idiotarod Brings Back Mayhem, Madness, And Community"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 23rd Idiotarod took place in Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood on Saturday, January 31. The all-day event began at 12 pm in Cooper Park in East Williamsburg and continued to three Brooklyn venues that functioned as \u201ccheckpoints\u201d for the race: Emblem, Fine Time, and Bar Cornelia. The night concluded around 8pm with an Awards Ceremony at The Deep End in Ridgewood, Queens.\"\"<\/p>\n

Despite the raging cold and snow on the ground, over 30 teams in full costumes with decorated and on-theme carts participated in Idiotarod. The name of the race is a play on Alaska\u2019s famous dog sled race\u2013\u2013Iditarod. Perhaps it may seem idiotic to be out all day in the cold of NYC January, but all involved had a wonderful time. Many passersby on the street joined in the revelry and even more took pictures.<\/p>\n

The Queens Gazette interviewed organizers Rody Biggert and Sherry Smith, who took over Idiotarod a few years back. Smith explained that all registered participants pay $10 cash, which goes towards awards and prizes. The start of the route is not announced until the night before. Smith said, \u201cUsually it\u2019s the start location the day before, and then the rest of the route as the race continues is revealed to the racers. We have had some last minute, like really last minute, switches of our checkpoints in the past. We\u2019re not so worried about the police anymore. That was an issue in the five or so years of this. I think we\u2019ve learned how to stay out of their way. They\u2019ve learned that we\u2019re harmless. There was a while where it was like keep it secret so the police won\u2019t come and get us. Now I think it\u2019s more like if we have to change a location at the last minute, we don\u2019t want to screw everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Biggert clarified that the next locations or \u201ccheckpoints\u201d on the race are not revealed until tasks are completed. He said, \u201cThe start location goes out the day before, and then at each checkpoint and at the start, once we\u2019re ready to go, we\u2019ll give out the first checkpoint to everybody. They go to the first checkpoint and once they complete all the tasks and do what they have to do, they get signed off at the checkpoint. Then they get the next checkpoint location. So you have to complete the task at each checkpoint to find out the next location. So nothing\u2019s revealed until you actually complete the tasks.\u201d<\/p>\n

In past years, one checkpoint was a quincea\u00f1era and another was filling out Trump\u2019s tax forms for the IRS. Smith said, \u201cAnd a lot of the point of the checkpoints is keeping people warm. In the early years of the race, most of it was outside, and there was one year that was brutal, brutal, brutal cold, and we realized we gotta figure out how to make this more inside. And then, also, just making it last longer, because if all we were doing was going from place to place to place, it\u2019d be over in two hours, and that would be sad. So, it extends it. It also lets the teams play, to get mingled together and whatnot a bit more. Do you, and it\u2019s funny, we tell the bar owners, if you don\u2019t know what you\u2019re in for, it\u2019s going to be an onslaught. Gonna be a lot for a really short amount of time. And then we leave no trace. Like, we will be in. We will be chaos, but when we\u2019re gone, you will forget we were here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Biggert added, \u201cIt is like a moving parade that we go and we stop at locations and cause chaos for an hour. People get to warm up, get some drinks, get some food. And it brings a good amount of business to a bar that would normally be empty in a cold Saturday afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"When asked if the event is a burner event (Burning Man, the participatory arts experience in Nevada the week before Labor Day), Smith said, \u201cI\u2019m not a burner. Burning Man would kill me. I\u2019m way too soft. There\u2019s a lot of crossover though.\u201d\"\"<\/p>\n

Biggert added, \u201cIt\u2019s definitely Burning Man adjacent. I\u2019m a burner and several of the teams are burner teams, but a lot of them aren\u2019t. We\u2019ve had a team of NYU doctors and a scientist team. Last year we had a team of bakery owners. They just heard about it, so they made a loaf of bread as their cart, and that was their business. They were a small business that gave out bread.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked to describe the race in a few words, Smith said, \u201cUnapologetically creative, organized chaos.\u201d Biggert said, \u201cControlled chaos meets underground parade.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mandy Kitana, 37, from the Bronx, participated in Idiotarod for her first time, on Kostume Kult\u2019s Team Party Goat. She said, \u201cIt was fantastic. We get to express ourselves in zero climate. Why else live? This is the epitome of our expression of free will. I wish I knew how treacherous it would be. That was part of the fun though. Hit and miss free will attraction! Going through the ice and snow was dangerous, but we still fought through it. It was a gamble. We still persevered because of our free will. Dress warm and be prepared for whatever free will throws in your face. I will absolutely come back next year. The elements challenge you to be chaotically creative. We choose to be out in 7 degree weather. I wouldn\u2019t be here if the cyclone came but we chose our free will and we regret nothing. Why live a life that you\u2019re just gonna regret when you can choose to just do it?\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Bhavana Jonnalagadda, 31, from Bed-Stuy, participated in Idiotarod for her third time. In past years, she was a spectator, fake judge, and an inspector. This year she was with Team Poly Chemistry. She said, \u201cWe observed poly vibrations through chemistry\u2014 high school chemistry experiments and shots. We sourced our cart from the city itself. We mostly hang outside. I only go in for the warmth. The Dune cart which was a giant worm always sticks in my memory. I describe Idiotarod as immersive art experience meets survival masochism. People come because they want an art experience. People are drawn to that. They can\u2019t help but make art. I can\u2019t just play. I have to survive in cold and play. I can\u2019t feel my feet. They\u2019re wet. It\u2019s horrible. I wore boots, but I need better boots next year that aren\u2019t leaky.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rachel Sander, 38, from the Upper West Side, participated for her first time with Team In-Cart-Cerated. She said, \u201cI am such a normie but my friend Catherine who I do bike stuff with asked me to help and participate. I didn\u2019t realize how it would be. But it\u2019s been a blast. I saw three or four people I haven\u2019t seen in years. Now I feel like this is a real in person non-virtual way to meet real people. It\u2019s human connection. We had a prison guard and everyone else was in jail uniforms. Our cart looks like a prison. The warden was in the cart, and we broke free and flipped the switch. We will show the man!\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, Idiotarod showed \u201cthe man\u201d how to have a good time, even outside, even in the dead of winter in NYC. What could be a better way to acclimate to the coldest time of the year than to throw oneself right in? Thirty degree weather will be a piece of cake! The Queens Gazette looks forward to returning next year and capturing photos of even more iconic carts, costumes, and people.<\/p>\n

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*****IDIOTAROD 2026 OFFICIAL RESULTS*****<\/p>\n

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BEST IN SHOW: Mighty Morphing Party Rangers<\/p>\n

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BEST COSTUMES: Cryptid Ziptids<\/p>\n

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BEST CART: The Finnish Line<\/p>\n

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BEST BRIBERY: Reptile Dysfunction<\/p>\n

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BEST CHECKPOINT: #1<\/p>\n

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BEST HOSPITALITY\/STOCKHOLM SYNDROME: Hot Tub Crime Machine<\/p>\n

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BEST TEMPTATION: Yes Today Satan<\/p>\n

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BEST POTENTIAL FORESHADOWING: Body Count<\/p>\n

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MOST HR VIOLATIONS: TNA Industries Annual XMAS Holiday Party 1982<\/p>\n

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NAUTICAL NIGHTMARE: Sharkcuterie<\/p>\n

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HONORABLE MENTIONS: Party Goat, Chicken Little News Network<\/p>\n

Photos by Nicollette Barsamian <\/p>\n

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\"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\" \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 23rd Idiotarod took place in Williamsburg, Bushwick, and Ridgewood on Saturday, January 31. The all-day event began…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124413,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":{"0":"post-124412","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-queens","8":"tag-new-york","9":"tag-new-york-city","10":"tag-nyc","11":"tag-queens","12":"tag-queens-headlines","13":"tag-queens-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124412","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124412\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124413"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124412"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124412"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124412"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}