Once upon a time, back when I lived in southeast Portland, I’d make the annual August pilgrimage to Mt. Tabor to take photos at the Portland Adult Soapbox Derby. I’ve not been in maybe a decade, and this year’s has been canceled converted into the Portland All-ages Shoebox Derby.
Promoters are inviting volunteers to build their own shoebox racers for the “Tabletop Tabor,” a “mini-mountain model of epic proportions,” according to a recent news release. Teams will register and build original model cars at home. The vehicles will then be delivered to the Derby Central Office before race day.
It isn’t the same, of course, but this live-streamed miniature analogue is pretty hilarious and inventive and there’s no way in the world that I will miss the event this year. If nothing else, now crashes can be exciting instead of terrifying.