Seattle's Child

Your guide to a kid-friendly city

Amazing Race: family shows off their moves outside the Bathouse Theatre in Green Lake Park

Join Seattle’s Amazing Race on Saturday

Safe, distanced, and suitable for all

This Saturday, Seattle families have the opportunity to take part in an Amazing Race, wherever they may be.

Normally, the city’s Amazing Race involves going to actual places to fulfill challenges, but this year, there’s a quarantine-friendly twist, explains Vicki Allgood, of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department.

Say there’s a challenge to cross the nearest body of water.

That could be an invitation to canoe across Green Lake. Or maybe you could just fill a bottle of water in your apartment and step over it, Allgood says.

Families can still dash around town doing challenges, but if that’s not possible, they can still participate.

The idea is to make the race as inclusive as possible.

 

Racers, check your apps

The actual racing will take place from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, but Allgood says teams should sign up by the end of the day on Tuesday to get the full benefit of planning time. Organizers will send out a link, directions and a special race app on Wednesday.

It costs $15 per team. You can make a team out of anyone inĀ  your bubble.

And of course meetings that might have been in person in previous years will now be virtual.

On race day, the first hour will be a remote check-in, and verification that everyone’s devices are set up properly and the app is working. The race part of the Amazing Race will go on from 1 to 3 p.m. and at 3 p.m. teams will meet via video chat to share experiences.

Afterwards, organizers will send each team a link to a video of their entry.

Here’s a video with a taste of what to expect.

And here’s where to register.

About the Author

Fiona Cohen

Fiona Cohen lives in Ballard with her husband, two teenagers, a big vegetable garden and an absurd cat. She is the author of "Curious Kids Nature Guide," and is working on a new nature book for kids, to be published by Little Bigfoot in 2022.