Greenfield Soapbox Races Coming in May

Second annual race to be held on Saturday, May 7th at Noon

The Greenfield Soapbox Races returns this year on Saturday, May 7th at noon on Nash's Mill Road. This is an excellent hill, and despite being held the same day as the Franklin County Fair last year, we had a good crowd and some serious racing action. The Friends of Greenfield Recreation earned about $3500 from the event, with special thanks to primary sponsor Greenfield Savings Bank and all the other sponsors, materials donors, and volunteers. We hope to repeat it again this year, but with more people!

Registration is now open! Sign up as a racer now! The fee will remain $25 per racer until April 1st, afterwhich it will go up to $30. Registration will close on Wednesday, May 4th.

The races this year will be a fundraiser for the Greenfield Recreation Department's Fireworks Fund to help pay for the fireworks display at Beacon Field this coming July.

This year we will introduce a new class of racing for adults. Kids and Teens will still have their regular race for fastest. Adults can now sign up for either the regular Adult class, or the new Semi-Pro Adult class, for those carts that typically will 1st, 2nd or 3rd every year. We hope those winners / class of racers will move to this new semi-pro class.

Despite its Nascar-like modus, building a soapbox cart is really a STEAM project, combining Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics. It's perfect for school kids and adults, families and friends, and even local companies who want to leave it all on the track. All carts must be hand-built, and anyone from 8 to 80 yrs old can race. All races start at noon. And this year we will introduce a new Semi-Pro category (in addition to kids, teens and adults) to each race for those who build serious speed carts and want their own special prize.

The popularity of the event, and the sport itself, is evident in the distances people will drive to race their carts. We've had racers come from as far away as New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, New York State, and of course Vermont and New Hampshire. Most of these people came to town, stayed overnight, ate local fare, and put on displays of ingenuity and daring-do for the onlookers. Please come out for the races and give them your support.

All Soapbox Races are organized by each town's recreation department (or friends of) as fundraisers for their programming and equipment, with the help of the Northeast Soapbox Association. Each race is looking for sponsors, volunteers, vendors, and of course racers! If you are interested in going down the hill, volunteering, or helping fund this unique event, please start your journey at NortheastSoapbox.org where you can find the full year's schedule and links to each town's races where you can register your cart or your intention to sponsor or volunteer (get a free t-shirt, hey!). This year there will be no same-day cart registration, and the cut-off is in the week before the race.

Ready? Set... GO!