Santa Barbara’s Newest Festival Takes the Cake
New Kinetic Cake Expo is the Icing on a Fun-Filled Rainy Afternoon
As promised, Santa Barbara’s first ever Kinetic Cake Expo was a sugar-fueled, laughs for all ages, extravaganza of fun.
Despite the rainy Saturday, enthusiastic crowds showed up to cheer on the five creatively adorned teams — The Runaways, The Gilded Girls, Lumberjack’s DOF, Amateur Tribunals, and Buckthorne — who competed on wheeled vehicles and roller skates to get their cakes through the carwash style “Cake Wash” in the most creative possible fashion.
Inspired by kinetic sculpture races that have been taking place in Humboldt County for more than 50 years, as well as other similar festivals, organizers and artistic collaborators Adrienne De Guevara and Patrick Melroy of MISC Workshop put together this indescribably delicious event with support from the City of Santa Barbara through an Events and Festivals Grant, the County Office of Arts and Culture, MOXI, SBCC, and the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative.
They are off to a great start and the idea is that the first Kinetic Cake Expo is just the beginning for proof of concept, and the hope is that it will grow into a large annual event in the vein of Solstice.
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Cake Wash at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Rod Rolle at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Runaways at Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Gilded Girls at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
The winning cake from the Runaways, the eventual winners at Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Judges, from left: Karen Taggart, organizer of the former Ventura Kinetic Race (who served as a mentor for the Santa Barbara project), Joe Velasco of Boxtales fame, and Christina McCarthy of UCSB Theater Dance, at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Amateur Tribunals team at at Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Lumberjack’s DOF at Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Lumberjack’s DOF at Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Judges Karen Taggart, front, and Christina McCarthy a the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Rod Rolle at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
The Cake Wash at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Diane Mackenizie enjoys the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
DJ at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom 
Fun for all ages at the Kinetic Cake Expo at CAW, April 13, 2024 | Photo: Ingrid Bostrom
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