There are some “official” Venice Canal boat races and costume parades, and there are some D.I.Y. races. Here is a video and story of a D.I.Y. race from Eduardo Manilla, with story by Carissa Ashley Tedesco and video by Laurin Biersack:
The best ideas come from imbibing around a fire pit at three A.M. At least they do in my Venice. Hence the birth of the First Annual Costumed Venice Canal Relay Race.
It remains up for debate on whose idea it originally was (the greatest memory loss also comes from aforementioned imbibing) but suffice it to say once it went from idea to plan, the three amigos; Eduardo Manilla, Kristin Billowitch and Ferdie Torres worked tirelessly together bringing their special brands of neurotic quirky perfectionism to bring this event to fruition a mere two weeks later: Territory was surveyed for optimum fun and testing of each participants athletic prowess. Spread sheets and illustrated maps were printed because, well…Ferdie Torres was involved. Invitations were sent inclusive of links on where to buy the rafts at the best prices. And last but not least, the worlds weirdest trophy was made because when there’s a competition, there must be a prize.
Best of all and completely unplanned (because that’s just how we roll) is that our super-talented visiting friend from Germany, Laurin Biersack filmed the whole thing. None of us are sure what the hell is in that Canal water, nor do we know if what we did was entirely legal. But as you can tell, neither did we care.
Yo Venice! We love you!
