RIPON – Asher Mackey was all smiles as he reached for his dad at the starting line Saturday morning.
Wearing a onesie with “eat my dust” printed across the back, the infant made good on his apparel Saturday morning at the Ripon Almond Blossom Diaper Derby held inside of the Abeta-Horton Gymnasium at Ripon High School – crawling straight across the mat to easily win his race.
He’d go on to finish second overall behind Samantha Loratelli, and just in front of Lincoln Van Houten.
“This is an event that has been going on here in the community for more than 40 years,” said resident Dan Hendricks, who came out with his granddaughter Penelope Gonzalez. “It’s nice to see some of the people who participated in this come back with their own kids.
“It’s a big community event, and it’s something that a lot of people enjoy coming to watch.”
Sponsored by the Ripon Chamber of Commerce, the event is open to babies less than one-year old and is held as a fun event just prior to the start of the annual Almond Blossom Parade.
There were so many entries that organizers had to separate the babies into individual heats with the winners going on to a final race to determine who the winner would be.
Parents for the top three finishers were presented with a ribbon, and a basket full of baby care products – as a well as a cash prize.
Victor Bradley was in town from Oregon for the Almond Blossom Festival, and was happy to get the chance to see his great-granddaughter compete in the event.
“It’s nice to see the participation and the enthusiasm of everybody that’s here today – I think it’s terrific,” Bradley said – pointing towards the packed stands at the opposite side of the gymnasium. “I think that this shows an awful lot of togetherness on the part of the community.”
Wearing a onesie with “eat my dust” printed across the back, the infant made good on his apparel Saturday morning at the Ripon Almond Blossom Diaper Derby held inside of the Abeta-Horton Gymnasium at Ripon High School – crawling straight across the mat to easily win his race.
He’d go on to finish second overall behind Samantha Loratelli, and just in front of Lincoln Van Houten.
“This is an event that has been going on here in the community for more than 40 years,” said resident Dan Hendricks, who came out with his granddaughter Penelope Gonzalez. “It’s nice to see some of the people who participated in this come back with their own kids.
“It’s a big community event, and it’s something that a lot of people enjoy coming to watch.”
Sponsored by the Ripon Chamber of Commerce, the event is open to babies less than one-year old and is held as a fun event just prior to the start of the annual Almond Blossom Parade.
There were so many entries that organizers had to separate the babies into individual heats with the winners going on to a final race to determine who the winner would be.
Parents for the top three finishers were presented with a ribbon, and a basket full of baby care products – as a well as a cash prize.
Victor Bradley was in town from Oregon for the Almond Blossom Festival, and was happy to get the chance to see his great-granddaughter compete in the event.
“It’s nice to see the participation and the enthusiasm of everybody that’s here today – I think it’s terrific,” Bradley said – pointing towards the packed stands at the opposite side of the gymnasium. “I think that this shows an awful lot of togetherness on the part of the community.”
