2021 Running of the Tubs Bathtub Races in Hot Springs Win Award From Festivals and Events Association; 2022 Edition Scheduled on Bathhouse Row June 4
(PHOTO CAPTION(1) Alexis Hampo (left) accepts the award from Krista Thomas, executive director of AFEA. (2) The Bathhouse Soapery team defends its title in the 2021 races.)
HOT SPRINGS NATIONAL PARK, Arkansas — The 2021 edition of the World Championship Running of the Tubs bathtub races held along World Famous Bathhouse Row has won the 2021 Most Unique Event Award from the Arkansas Festivals and Events Association.
Alexis Hampo, special events assistant for Visit Hot Springs, accepted the award from Krista Thomas, executive director of the AFEA.
“The World Championship Running of the Tubs is one of Hot Springs’ unique and popular family-friendly events and we are tremendously pleased to see the tub races receive recognition for their unique fun-filled entertainment,” said Bill Solleder, marketing director for Visit Hot Springs. “The crowds that line Bathhouse Row join in the hilarity of the event and help make the races so much fun.”
The tub races will be held for the 18th time on June 4 this year. Bathhouse Soapery is the presenting sponsor. The 2020 contest was canceled because of the covid pandemic. The tub entries will be judged for uniqueness and other attributes on the evening of June 3 in Hill Wheatley Plaza.
“We are already accepting entries for all divisions of the race — traditional, modified and stock bathtubs,” Solleder said. Only 24 entries will be accepted, he said.
Applications are available at the Hot Springs Convention Center (501-321-2027) or by contacting him via email at bsolleder@hotsprings.org
More information about entering a tub team may be found at https://www.facebook.com/RunningoftheTubs/
The Running of the Tubs is a celebration of Hot Springs’ historic past when the city proclaimed, “We Bathe The World!” and is named in honor of the late Stueart Pennington, a well-known and respected downtown businessman. The event consists of teams pushing their bathtubs — on wheels of course — down Central Avenue, in front of Bathhouse Row, in Historic Downtown Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas.
“The races were begun 18 years ago as the Steuart Pennington Running of the Tubs, and Mr. Pennington will still be honored as the motivating force behind the event with the awarding of the Steuart Pennington Cup to the winning teams,” Solleder said. “Mr. Pennington was a long-time downtown merchant who pushed for the bathtub races to acknowledge Hot Springs’ rich history as a world-renowned thermal-bathing destination.”
For information contact Bill Solleder at 501-321-2027.
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