NEWBURYPORT — Those itching to race down Federal Street in a makeshift bed will want to start stretching their legs as the annual Newburyport Lions Club Bed Race officially has a new date – Aug. 15.
The new date comes after the race was delayed for the first time in the event’s history thanks to heavy rainstorms on Thursday, much to the disappointment of residents who have come to view it as a staple of Yankee Homecoming.
“If it would’ve been a light sprinkle, we probably would’ve done it anyway. But it was just going to be too rainy,” Lions Club member and organizer Frank Bertolino said.
He spoke about how they came to the decision to hold it on Aug. 15, explaining that it was the date they had the most members available.
“It takes quite a few members to run it. And we tried to do it, since it wasn’t during Newburyport Homecoming week, we thought doing a Friday night would be better,” Bertolino said.
Bertolino thanked the city for working with them to quickly get a new date.
“The City Clerk, all those people at City Hall, and the police department jumped through hoops for us,” Bertolino said.
In terms of what folks can expect from the night, he said it will be pretty much identical to any other year.
“This is always a big night. The bed race just draws so many people because it’s such a strange-but-fun and exciting event,” Bertolino said.
The race will kick off at 6 p.m. at Federal Street.
“And if beds could get there around 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to line up, that would be wonderful,” Bertolino said.
All are welcome to show up with a bed the night of, and that 11 groups have already signed up including Newburyport Recreation and Youth Services, Anna Jaques Hospital’s CT department, and the Custom House Maritime Museum.
“We usually have somewhere between 16 and 18 beds. This is 11, and usually we already get six or seven signed up in advance. All the rest sign up the night of, so it could turn out to be a record night,” Bertolino said.
Custom House Executive Director James Russell said he was thrilled to be taking part in the race.
“I know that our friends at the Museum of Old Newbury will be participating as well. They’ll be focusing on something on land, and we’ll be focusing on something at sea. We’re looking forward to having a lot of our members join us for that,” Russell said.
Bertolino explained why he thinks the event has grown to be so popular.
“For most beds, it’s not about grabbing a trophy, it’s about giving back to the community in a fun way, to make people get together, to laugh, to enjoy themselves. And it costs nothing to watch it,” Bertolino said.
Matt Petry covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: mpetry@northofboston.com.