Wife-carrying, the sequel: Couples’ race returns for more festival fun

It’s no sport for the faint of heart, but it might be for lightweights. The return of the wife-carrying contest to the Festival at Mount Si fun and games promises all of the excitement of the inaugural event, from the (gulp) public weighing-in of the wives to the final photo finish.

It’s no sport for the faint of heart, but it might be for lightweights. The return of the wife-carrying contest to the Festival at Mount Si fun and games promises all of the excitement of the inaugural event, from the (gulp) public weighing-in of the wives to the final photo finish.

Husbands and wives, or stunt wives in some cases, will compete in heats, running an obstacle course that includes balancing skills, water hazards and lots of laughs along the way. Because all the wives are weighed in advance, all the husbands will be handicapped to carry the same weight. The grand prize is beer, in fact, the winning wife’s weight in beer.

Festival chairperson Jill Massengill is excited to bring back the event, and hoping for another good turnout.

“We don’t have anyone sign up ahead of time, just like the pet contest, so we don’t know what the response will be. I just hope people can have a sense of humor about it.” she said in a conversation about the festival happenings.

Last year’s winners, Chris and Kristin Dalla Santa, certainly did. The couple sped through the course with a time of 38.68 seconds and posed, this time with the wife carrying the husband, for a victory photo.