Zelienople Bed Derby rolls into 4th year
When Thomas Oliverio visited his daughter in Wisconsin, he stumbled upon a bed race and just knew he had to bring a similar event back to Butler County.
Nearly a half decade later, the Zelienople mayor and his team of organizers are preparing to host their 4th annual Bed Derby in support of the Zelienople Area Public Library.
“At the very beginning, I wasn’t really thinking of a sponsor or anything like that,” he said. “I just wanted to get involved and help out local children. That was my No. 1 goal. Everything else just started falling into place.”
The event, which is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 26, will feature teams of five participants who build beds on wheels and compete in an obstacle course on High Street.
Organizers say the derby, which typically raises about $1,500 for the library, had its largest turnout last year, both in terms of teams and spectators.
“(The library) has a lot of expenses just to operate,” organizer Jason Sarver said. “They don’t have a lot of cash flow coming in either. So we really try as hard as we can to use these events to help them gain monetary funds, but also make it fun for the community.”
Teams can specially design their beds, which are later voted on by the public in exchange for a $1 donation. This year’s event also will feature refreshments and a 50/50 raffle.
Earlier that week on Monday, June 23, “Pittsburgh Today Live” of CBS Pittsburgh, will be in the borough to film a segment on the derby and some of the teams scheduled to compete.
Last year, NatuRoll Creamery took home first place, followed by the Armstrong Zoomers in second place and the Veterans Breakfast Group in Zelienople in third.
For more information about participating in the event or to be a sponsor, contact the Zelienople Area Public Library at 724-452-9330 or email zaplib@bcfls.org. The team registration fee is $30 and beds must arrive between 5 and 6 p.m. the day of the derby.
