In Portland, this soap box derby combines downhill speed with extreme pageantry

Racers a few moments after the start of the derby at Mt. Tabor Park during the 27th Portland Adult Soap Box Derby on Aug. 15 in Portland, Ore. Celeste Noche for NPR hide caption

Gravity is an inescapable force. It's why Earth has its atmosphere and orbits the sun. It can bring us to our knees. And it makes the race known as the soap box derby possible. This gravity-powered American tradition is usually a speed race for kids. But not in Portland, Oregon – home of the Portland Adult Soap Box Derby , which just celebrated its 27th annual run.

The use of aerodynamic, gravity-driven cars has been around for a long time – though it wasn't always known as a soap box derby. One of Charlie Chaplin's first screen appearances was 1914's Kid Auto Races in Venice . The event was also sometimes called a "pushmobile" race.

But the soap box derby became an American institution in the 1930s, when a national race launched in Ohio (which still hosts the Soap Box Derby World Championships). It also showed up in midcentury TV shows – everything from Dennis the Menace to Bewitched to The Danny Thomas Show .

Team members at the Portland Adult Soapbox Derby guide their vehicles to the starting line on August 15, 2026 in Portland, Ore. Celeste Noche for NPR hide caption

The classic design of the soapbox derby car is sleek and streamlined, to minimize drag. And as time went on, it got even more technical – with fiberglass bodies and titanium bushings, for example – to reach truly impressive speeds.

The Portland event is less about speed and more about joy and pageantry – it's part race, part art installation, and part block party.

On Saturday, 42 cars of all shapes and sizes gathered in Mt. Tabor Park for the race. While a few cars are designed for speed, most focus on maximizing creativity. This year's cars included a giant sloth head, a Heated Rivalry -themed zamboni called "The Ice Melter," a replica of the Flintstones car, and a car depicting Oregon's famous exploded dead whale .