Why You Need to Get Out to Riverwest’s Center Street Daze

For 26 years, crafty Riverwestians have spent their summers building hilarious, awesome and downright bizarre hand-propelled vehicles to race down Center Street.

The Art Cart Race started with the Riverwest Artwalk, but since 2003 it’s been a staple of Center Street Daze . Winning takes more than simply crossing the finish line – carts are judged on imagination, gumption and speed.

Last year’s speediest cart was a black husky (inspired by the neighborhood brewery) built by lovebirds Don Jones and Amy Ali. Their first date was working on the cart, when Jones asked Ali to draw the shape of the husky’s leg. “It was fun to bring our skill sets together in a creative way,” Ali says.

Jones first participated in 2023 as a pusher for a neighbor’s cart. “It was a disaster,” he says. “We crash