NEWBURYPORT — On a day when Newburyport firefighters were thinking of a comrade taken from his family and his community way too soon, they raced down Federal Street in a bed resembling a fire engine and won Thursday’s annual Newburyport Lions Club Bed Race for the third year in a row.
Newburyport firefighter Brett Burkinshaw died July 1, 2021, at age 47, of brain cancer.
The victory, witnessed by thousands of onlookers, was by the slimmest of margins as the Fire Department (1:13.35) beat out the Winner’s Circle Running Club (1:13.40) by .05 seconds.
If the results feel familiar it’s because the same two squads came in first and second last year. That year, local firefighters won by an entire second (1:15 to 1:16).
The bed race, which turns Federal Street into a drag strip, is one of Yankee Homecoming’s marquee events.
It serves as a fundraiser for the Lions Club and sees teams of racers pushing beds decked out as clipper ships, fire boats and evening a squared circle.
Per regulations, one person must ride inside the bed as their teammates chug down the road with crowds on both sides cheering them on.
Teams from the Newburyport Youth Council, Theater in the Open, The Dojo and The Wolfe Club, among others, also competed in the race. Many of the teams focused on presentation rather than speed and made little to-no effort trying to go fast. Instead, they soaked in the applause, hoots and hollers hurled at them by a smiling crowd.
Dispatcher/on-call firefighter Justin Burle took the role of team leader for the Newburyport Fire Department, overseeing a group of men who raced a bed that was, once again, made up to look like a replica of the city’s fireboat.
He said the racing bed was dedicated in honor of Burkinshaw, as well as fellow late firefighter Tony Raven.
Burle added his team’s slim victory this year was sweet.
“We were just giving all we had, pushing the whole time and we’re all still standing,” he said.
The Winner’s Circle member Peter Blake said coming in .05 seconds too late was another tough loss.
“I feel a burning desire to be better, next year,” he said. “But I give props to the Fire Department. They are stronger, burlier men.”
The Newburyport Recreation and Youth Services’ Youth Council went with a Mario Kart theme, with enrichment coordinator director Tara McGregor riding in the bed dressed as the eponymous video game plumber.
MacGregor said the Youth Council enjoys playing Mario Kart after school, so they went with the theme.
“It’s a nostalgic memory that everybody can share, regardless of age,” she said. “Who doesn’t love Mario Kart?”
Youth Council member Georgia Macmillian had a large, red and white mushroom on her head to emulate another character: Toad.
“I picked Toad because I wanted to make a mushroom hat,” she said. “It’s not too heavy, not too hot.”
Museum of Old Newbury Executive Director Bethany Groff Dorau was dressed as an 1850s ship’s figurehead carving.
In her white dress and clipper ship hat, Groff Dorau rode on a bed adorned with four grandfather clocks.
“I’m an angel,” she said. “I’m flying through time. Hopefully, we’re flying into the wind.”
Groff Dorau spent her time before the race fanning herself in the heat with a cardboard advertisement for the museum. But she said she expected to be going so fast, once her runners got moving, that she wouldn’t need any fans.
Unfortunately, the museum’s bed suffered mechanical problems forcing crew members to slam on the brakes and fix what turned out to be a damaged wheel.
Massage Only owner Cheryl Fisher was wearing a blue wig, along with the rest of her four runners, while her daughter, Isabella Schwind lay on a massage table, recording the whole event with her cell phone.
“Blue is our color,” Fisher said.
Racing a bed down Federal Street, Fisher added is a “lost art form.”
“I’ve been really honing my skills and am ready to show up,” she said, before her team began charging down Federal Street.
Michael Switzer, founder and president of the charitable men’s organization The Wolfe Club, was once again dressed as British Gen. James Wolfe.
He carried a plastic sword and rode atop a foam horse that was sitting on a bed, complete with speakers playing galloping sounds in the background.
“We’re going for speed but I think we have a nice combination for speed and style,” Switzer said.
This year’s teams also competed to win in a number of other categories – most creative, fastest overall, most team spirit and loudest crowd cheering.
The winners were scheduled to be announced over the weekend on the Lions’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/NewburyportLions.
Daily News editor Dave Rogers contributed to this report.