EASTON, Pa. — Drivers, start your squashes!
Easton’s favorite veggie-fueled race returned Wednesday to the West Ward Market to determine the champions of (healthy) fast food among dozens of children and adults.
And while the sweltering heat and humidity wasn't doing any favors for those zucchinis, the 19th year of the Zucchini 500 served up plenty of science and creativity for participants.
"So a lot of folks are wondering what to do with an abundance of zucchinis. Well, this is one solution to having way too many zucchinis: race them against each other.”Market Manager Emily Roland
“The annual Zucchini 500 gets its name from the Indy 500, so it's like sports car/soapbox racing,” Market Manager Emily Roland said. “But instead of soap boxes, we use zucchinis, which are in peak season right now.
"So a lot of folks are wondering what to do with an abundance of zucchinis. Well, this is one solution to having way too many zucchinis: Race them against each other.”
Participants first sign up for a category — sports cars, mid-sized or monster trucks — before taking to the table to decorate their squash with a wealth of crafting materials.
With 25 children and six adults signed up for the race, and NASCAR official Peter Brohl as master of ceremonies for the event, it sure was a spectacle to behold.
Keeping zucchinis ready to run
A pit crew was also on hand to help racers engineer the perfect vehicle, a necessity, as the heat really hit those water-filled veggies pretty hard.
“They'll also get to learn about how a zucchini can disintegrate in high heat like today," Roland said. "As soon as you start carving a zucchini, it immediately starts to lose some of its moisture.
"So even though it's really humid today, the heat can really make a zucchini wilt. Zucchinis are primarily water, so kids find that out pretty quickly.
"We actually have coolers where kids can keep their zucchinis cool before the race, so that way they don't atrophy.”
Easton Garden Works provided free zucchinis for the racers, offering up some entertainment and an opportunity to educate participants.
As a program under Greater Easton Development Partnership, Easton Garden Works sets up urban community gardens in unused lots where anyone can join in.
“We have close to a 1-acre farm over on Wood Avenue where we grow all of our produce for the local food pantries and also for the West Ward Market,” Assistant Farm Manager Inbal Sella said.
“And our goal is basically just to make healthy, fresh, organic food accessible to the West Ward community neighborhood. So yeah, so we grow lots of zucchini, and we donated most of them to the Zucchini 500.”
'Celebrating the seasonality'
The group also has a garden over at nearby Paxinosa Elementary School — which provides an opportunity for racers to see where their vehicles came from, Sella said.
Caroline Lee said she attended the Zucchini 500 with her daughter, Ellie Nees, and son, Henry Nees, for three years. Each has his or her own favorite part of the race, Lee said.
“It’s really fun when they get to the racing part,” she said, gesturing toward her daughter, who was adjusting the wheels on her zucchini.
“She’s eager to get to the decorating part. It's all about the decorations. Whereas my son, my son's more into the speed.”
With just over an hour until race time, Ellie was working out a few hiccups with her racer.
“I’m doing a monster truck, but the wheels — you have to test them, it’s very tricky,” she said.
She said she wasn’t expecting to win, but she’d take a shot anyway. After all, it’s not really about being the first to cross the finish line, it’s all about fun, as Roland said.
"This is obviously a really great way to bring the community out… a little bit of competition and celebrating the seasonality of zucchini," Roland said.
"It was an appropriate thing to bring here to the market, and it's just been this really fun event that brings people out."
