A Round of Applause, You All Deserve it.
You all continue to amaze us with your creativity, charity and chaos. Keep up the good work, and congratulations to all the winners of CHIditarod XIX.
$145,508
In Hunger-Fighting Fundraising
13,605.4 lbs
Pounds of Food Donated
11,337
Equivalent Meals!**
More than $140,000 was raised to help make sure food insecurity is addressed across our Chicago communities. On race day, 52 teams dressed up, bribed, bonded and left with some pretty cool awards. 300 Volunteers signed-up and made CHIdiatord XIX happen!
Join us in congratulating our fabulous winners!
The Food Drive
With the goal of fighting hunger always in the forefront of our minds, all of our teams must come with at least 69 (nice) lbs of food, but so many teams go above and beyond. With the help of our friends at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the CHIditarod XIX food drive collected enough food and funds to provide more than 11,337 meals for Chicago’s hungry. Thank you CHIditarod participants for being amazing all-stars and for making a difference in the lives of many, many people.
Food Drive Champions:
Mission from God • 354.6 lbs
A beyond amazing showing from this rookie team. They embraced the spirit of Chiditarod and sure did a great job representing historic local studio Essanay and the AICP all while fighting hunger!
Second Place:
Wigs Jacked for Jesus • 277 lbs
Third Place: Team Titan • 193.5 lbs
An enormous THANK YOU to everyone for such a strong showing in our annual food drive. You help us make sure no Chicagoan goes hungry.
Epic Fundraising
Fundraising is the powerful force behind the CHIditarod Foundation’s hunger-fighting grant program, providing nearly $500,000 in grants to date to nonprofits who share in our mission to end hunger in Chicago. This year our racers, volunteers, checkpoints, and organizers — with the help of their families, friends, and communities — raised more than $140,000 in support of this community grants program.
We will once again be able to support community-centered initiatives that address hunger, food scarcity, and education via the CHIditarod Grant Program. We are closer than ever to completing our big huge audacious goal to fundraise $1,000,000 by CHIditarod XIX! The hard work of fundraising teams, combined with the generosity of the community and the care of people supporting one another, help us fulfill our mission to ensure everyone has access to food.
Fundraising Champions:
Chidiots • $45,484
Since 2013, Chidiots have amassed trophies for Most Food Raised, Best In Show, Best Costume, and Best Art Cart; they have won the the Action Squad Dynasty Award, have been ChiditaBowl Champions, and awarded The Spirit of Chiditarod. In 2019, they merged with rival 3GS&T for a game of Battleship, co-creating what is now known as The Frivalry – a collection of teams who have driven our fundraising to new heights. So this seemed like the year to go after the coveted Fundraising Champion trophy. They recruited a new Chidiot, “The Matchmaker” – Emily Belke – who has personally raised over $50,000 for Chiditarod since 2018, and, as always, they incorporated the names of all of their donors into their cart, a list that continues to grow. After many years of placing in the top 4, we are so happy to tell you that Chidiots are not only the 2024 Fundraising Champions with over $45,000, but they set a new record for Team Fundraising. Well done!
2nd Place Fundraising:
Nomeward Bound • $26,793
Ever the dedicated frivals, this powerhouse team of fundraisers not only continues to impress, but proved a source of *fundraising inspiration* for the Chidiots.
3rd Place Fundraising:
3GS&T • $18,075
Never out to sea, this veteran team is back at it again, delivering on some extra fundraising fun with daily riddles where their MYSTERY donor shared the wealth.
4th Place Fundraising:
SixPack Attack • $7,654
Surpassing their previous fundraising totals, with their eye on their first fundraising trophy, this team brought the heat in their crockpot to place in fourth place fundraising!
Checkpoint Fundraising Champions:
Mundus Absurdus – Phyllis’s • $6,015
In a new award category this year, Team Mundus Absurdus at Phyllis’ knocked the ball out of the park. They not only set a new fundraising record for Checkpoints, but they came in 6th overall in fundraising versus racing teams! Adding in the 400 lbs of food collected, it’s clear that the one remaining bar that has been part of Chiditarod from the start is continuing to earn its place in our event history books.
CHIditarod, The Race
Yes, CHIditarod is indeed still a timed race, despite how distracting fresh air and sunny skies may be on the first weekend of March. These times not only got their hustle on, but stayed on task along the way to get to the finish line, and the after party ahead of the rest.
Fastest Time:
Holidaze • 3hrs : 22min
Mark your calendars, these holidays can really FLY by! At least they did at this years race. Congratulations!
2nd Place:
Team America • 3hrs : 31min
3rd Place:
Pokemon Yellow • 3hrs : 38min
The Judges Call!
Best in Show: Nomeward Bound
This year’s Best In Show was the “Chiditaline Tours Architectural Boat Cruise and Gift Shop”. Complete with six historic buildings, two tour guides (one with a questionable sense of history), a gift shop attendant, and a cranky Frank Lloyd Wright, this team had all of the elements we were looking for – outstanding costumes, a terrific cart build (re-using materials from past carts, natch), endless jokes about the fateful Dave Matthews Poop Cruise, and a fully functioning store that not only provided a wealth of bribes to the Judges (made with recycled materials), but also provided more fundraising opportunities for anyone who wanted to make a purchase. Add to that their 2nd place award for Fundraising, and Nomeward Bound proved that they really are worthy of landmark status.
2nd Best in Show: Cartastrophe
A loopy Cat Lady in rollers and slippers; an aggressively decorated apartment shrine dedicated to her feline friends; and 6′ tall kitties who were less likely to break character than the Cats on Broadway, were just the start of the hilarity that Cartastrophe brought us this year. You could say the team had the Judges eating out of their hands, but they were actually lapping “milk” from their saucers.
3rd Best in Show: Chidiots
It’s not a secret that one of the Chidiots has a deep love and respect of Weird Al, and this year they brought the master of wordplay to life. Their perfectly executed costumes represented five different songs in Al’s oeuvre, and a branded bag held a related bribe for each. After the team rolled their massive, functioning accordion cart into each Checkpoint, they serenaded the Judges with a different song parody for each bar, written specifically for Chiditarod (ex: at Phyllis’, it was a Foo Fighters homage, “Learning to Bribe”.) We think Weird Al himself would be impressed.
The Checkpoint Awards
Master Judges at each Checkpoint have the power to bestow a prize befitting of a specific kind of chaos, pageantry or just all around silliness.
Phyllis’s Musical Inn •
Faith, Lust and a little bit of Pixie Dust
Casting spells with a magical dildo wand, blowing delightful bubbles, and explaining the anatomically correct parts of their cart, this flutter of fairies captured our attention. An engaging rookie team, they adorned everyone with bindis and flowers and love, and never once spilled their pixie dust.
Irish Nobleman • Cocaine Bear
If all you ever saw was a preview for this wild film, you would still appreciate the energy and hilarity of the Cocaine Bear team. Luckily, no grizzlies were harmed in the racing of this cart, but plenty of powdered donuts were consumed.
Output Lounge • Carbenheimer
Bright, energetic and explosive, this team taught us the magic of what happens when a fireball hits Malibu.They may have been snubbed at the Oscars but they won’t be snubbed at Chiditarod. The Output Atomic Barbie award goes to…CarbenHeimer!
Five Star • Raincheck
Normally, the Judges don’t talk Sabotage on Race Day, because that’s an award that comes from our survey. But this year, we not only saw Sabotage happening, we watched team Rain Check get permission for it, and even manage to play tricks on carts that were actively manned by their teams. From flooding people’s wheels, to driving a shim in the wheelbase (which was easily removed), they had everyone laughing at their antics, including the victims.
Roots • Ruthless Bader Ginsburg and the Malort Court
Apparently, there is a little known conspiracy regarding the idea that beloved Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and a certain maligned Chicago wormwood beverage were born the same year. This cart took the connection between The Notorious RBG and Malort Face to the next level with their fully functional judges’ bench (complete with detailed seal) and aggressive, citation-writing bailiff. The Chiditarod Judges will drink to that (but perhaps something other than Jeppson’s, thanks…)
Rookie of the Year:
Friends of the Abyss
Our Rookie of the Year brought education and execution together in a rather magnificent way. One of two carts that focused on sustainability of our oceans (nod of respect to the ladies of 3GS&T!), this group of newbies built spectacular costumes representing various sea creatures and also told us about their plight, all while maintaining a sense of humor. (We are still laughing at the crab claw clapping at the Awards Ceremony…) Well done, Rookies; looking forward to what you dream up next year!
Honorable Mention Rookie:
Mission from God
Representing historic local studio Essanay and the AICP, this first-time team nodded to Chicago film history and built a Blues Brothers car. Fully functional with a driver’s seat, and made almost completely from scrap materials found at the studio (only the steering wheel had to be purchased), this group of rookies – most of whom had never seen The Blues Brothers movie until a few weeks before Race Day – did a fine job of stepping up into the Art Cart realm.
Best Costume: French Kiss
As the 70s metal blasted from down the street, you weren’t thinking about what would happen if you crossed Gene Simmons with Marcel Marceau, and then, voila, the ladies of French KISS arrived! In classic striped Breton shirts, red kerchiefs, and berets, they had locked in the old school Parisian look, but the silver platform shoes, wild black wigs, and the classic KISS makeup brought a je ne sais quoi that the Judges just adored. C’est fabuleux, c’est vrai!
The Creative Arts Award for Use of Unusual Materials: Trash Brigade
We never expected that the most unusual material we would see contending for this award was garbage, and yet Chicago Trash Brigade made jems out of junk. A cart covered in found objects (which were attached firmly to ensure no littering), this team not only made a bold statement in support of Chiditarod’s Leave No Trace policy, but they assisted with it as well, picking up garbage along the route, and allowing fellow racers to deposit their trash in the can that was at the center of their cart. Impressive both creatively and environmentally, this concept really did blow the minds of the Judges.
Best Bribe: Wigs Jacked for Jesus
When it came to bribes, the forecast was clear – Wigs Jacked for Jesus took this trophy for the second year in a row. A snow scraper, a thermometer/hygrometer, mirrored shades, and an autographed glossy of their meteorologist all packed into a branded dry bag ensured that the Judges were prepared for all possible weather conditions (or, as we call that in Chicago, any given Tuesday in March/April).
Art Cart Champion: ChiditAirRod
Better than anything Boeing ever built, the Secret Gentlemen’s Club’s discount airline, ChiditAirRod, took us to new heights (and some new lows). The massive, 4-cart plane was a sight to see, but it was the details that won over the Judges and the public – a blind pilot, aggressive TSA agents, and a talking piece of lost luggage were memorable characters; the Checkpoint-coded luggage tags, tiny snacks, airline wings, and remarkable sound effects were spot on. SGC is known for phenomenal builds, but this year they truly brought their A-game – their performance was as stellar as their Art Cart.
Racer Survey Results Are In!
People’s Choice: ChiditaRat
The sensation of 2024, they crafted a fantastic recreation of Chicago’s newest and most sacred landmark, the Rat Hole. Pay your respects and leave an offering for the RAT!
Dick Dastardly Award:
Rain Check
Not only did Rain Check win the hearts of the judges, but the people too with their really clever sabotage of putting one of the cart wheels from another team in a pan of water and leaving a calling card telling their victims that they had been flooded.
Best Checkpoint: Irish Nobleman
Shiver me timbers! You lucky racers got to be washed up onto shores of the Irish Nobleman. With their games, DJ, and being fully decked out (pun fully intended) with their pirate theme. Irish Nobleman was the bar that won the hearts of our racers this year.
We cannot express how thankful we are and how far the food raised, as well as money, that will help support those in need at a time when groceries are more expensive than ever before. The CHIditarod Foundation is committed to making sure food is accessible to everyone in the greater Chicagoland area. In 2023 we gave out $98,000 to fund 18 projects for both programming and infrastructure. We could not do this work without the generosity of everyone who fundraised and donate. Check back on our Grants Page for more information.
** 1.2 pounds of food per meal is the conversion used by Greater Chicago Food Depository and Feeding America
About the Race
The annual philanthropic spectacle raced through Chicago’s West Town neighborhoods, with each team visiting five checkpoints:. Five Star, Phyllis’s Musical Inn, Roots Handmade Pizza, Output Lounge, and Irish Nobleman. Each checkpoint hosted our costumed superstars with immersive themes, contests, and interactive opportunities. Our friends at Cobra Lounge once again graciously hosted the Start and Finish Lines. We wrapped up the awards ceremony at Sleeping Village, where there was music, mega dancing, and sandwiches from Fat Shallot. All bars have generously agreed to donate a 15% of their proceeds to The CHIditarod Foundation to aid in our epic mission of fighting hunger in Chicago at a time when it is needed more than ever before.