Boulder, Colorado (The Weekly Vice) -- You can't run a website about 'social insanity' without covering this event at least once. The Naked Pumpkin Run.
Every year on Halloween night, hundreds of people turn out in Boulder, Colorado to witness the seemingly unlikely. Large crowds of people streaking down the street, wearing nothing but pumpkins on their heads.
This year's 10th annual Naked Pumpkin Run was executed pretty much as it has been in years past. Runners carve their pumpkins with groups of friends in anticipation of the event. Later in the evening, the participants all congregate together (usually in a parking garage) where they strip and place their clothes in a plastic bag. Some are modest, waiting until the last minute to drop their threads while others lavish the freedom and get their nude on early.
Shortly after 10:00, the race begins - sending naked runners on a fairly lengthy trek that snakes along the roadway as crowds of bystanders cheer them on. Most runners struggle a bit to keep the pumpkin from bouncing around on their head, others skip the anonymity of the pumpkin altogether. Either way, very few participants get by without at least something bouncing, as they jog down steps and around corners.
"This is my second time, it's so liberating," said Jill Fountain. "It's a whole bunch of people taking off their clothes. It's like making fun of being nude."
And that brings up one other detail. Who all runs in this event anyway?
Although the crowd is dominated by 18-24 year old enthusiasts, the event welcomes older participants as well. Gender seems to be fairly evenly split between male and female, although there is a running joke that the number of males seems to drop slightly when the weather is cold - for physiological reasons. Cold weather is heralded as an advantage for the females and a disadvantage for the males (we'll let you figure out why).
The event isn't sanction by Boulder authorities. Indecent exposure is against the law in Colorado and police will ticket you - if they can catch you. Authorities do not typically press this issue usually, preferring to keep order until the event is over.
This year however, authorities handed out more tickets than usual because the event fell on a Friday, when more officers are on patrol. Approximately a dozen 'suspects' were ticketed while crowds of onlookers chanted "Let them Go" and "Find real criminals."
The Naked Pumpkin run is becoming perhaps the best organized event of it's kind here in the U.S.. In 2007, Naked Pumpkin Runs were reported, with photos, in Phoenix AZ, Bloomington IL, Littleton CO, and Seattle WA..
Although the Naked Pumpkin Run doesn't yet rival the attendance levels or media coverage that other events like Boobs On Bikes in Auckland, New Zealand does - it marks the largest display of "Re-Nude" public nudity in the U.S. that we know of.
This year's event came to a close with organizers reminding participants to "compost" their pumpkins, instead of just throwing them away. They may be streakers - but no one said they had to be irresponsible streakers.
Additional info and photos at nakedpumpkinrun-dot-org
Photo diary and video capture of this year's event at dailycamera.com
Danny Vice
The Weekly Vice
http://www.theweeklyvice.com
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6 comments:
I've been to that. It's usually about 40 degrees outside. You're glad when it's over, but it's fun.
Boulder Police and Chief Beckner are dick heads. What they did last night was wrong and unacceptable.
I Thoug this kind of thing only happen in Europe, with so many things about morality end crap.
A ticket is better than being arrested. Has anybody being arrested so far?????????
Great write up. I have also been to NPR twice now and nothing weird happens. There's no reason to arrest people because anyone who's there is there to watch the event.El Garrabo, I didn't see anyone get arrested, but a few people were given tickets right before it started. It was just a political act by the police to look like they were controlling things - when it was already well controlled.
I think the event should set up a small fund to help pay the tickets, so no one gets singled out.
I lived in Colorado for a decade and never knew they did this. I would have gone.
I'd like to ask Boulder police a question. What creates more nudity? Letting those 12 people run the race and be done with it, or keeping them standing there for a half hour while you write the ticket? Perverts!
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