No Rest For These Bed Racers or Shoppers
Bar Harbor Bed Races Take Over Cottage Street
BAR HARBOR—There was no rest for a lot of retailers, shoppers, and bed racers this morning in Bar Harbor, Saturday morning as the town celebrated with the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s annual Pajama Sale and Bed Races.
There were a few penalties, one racer lost his bed, and a wheel almost went rogue, as 11 racing teams of four (plus one screaming rider) competed for the honor of the fastest bed runners of 2024.
Crowds gathered on the sidewalk on Cottage Street. People leaned out of windows. Others crept further onto the short race route as local teams vied for the best time.
After three dominating heats, the Hadley Point Gang took the championship with a final heat time of 42.60 seconds, narrowly besting MDI High School’s Sleepy Seniors who came in with a final heat time of 43.87 seconds.
The Acadia Youth Sports team came in first last year and third this year.
Gusty and blustery winds gave this year’s racers slightly slower times.
Music blared as each team raced. Spectators watched from the rooftops and out second-story windows as teams switched sides (as mandated) throughout the race route at designated spots. Chris Popper of Townsquare Media emceed the multi-heat, multi-bed race.
The annual race is part of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s Early Bird Pajama Sale.
It’s the second bed races for Everal Eaton, the chamber’s executive director, which organized the event. Pajama sale shoppers also took to the stores early the same morning for sales and specials.
Other teams racing included Conners Emerson, Bar Harbor Inn & Spa, Camp Beech Cliff (Peas D’Resistance), Bed Subcommittee, The Acadia Corporation, Friends of Acadia, Morrill Pond Purrfect Paws and the Inn on Mount Desert. Conners Emerson received the spirit award.
All photos: Shaun Farrar/Carrie Jones, Bar Harbor Story.
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