Rest Stops? Not for These Competitors Bar Harbor’s Bed Racers Went Full Throttle, Saturday
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Rest Stops? Not for These Competitors

Bar Harbor’s Bed Racers Went Full Throttle, Saturday

Carrie Jones

Nov 09, 2025

A team dressed as food items, including an avocado and toast, race a bed on wheels during the Bar Harbor Bed Race event, surrounded by cheering spectators.
Stay Bar Harbor’s Bed and Breakast team

BAR HARBOR—It’s not every day a piece of toast runs through Bar Harbor next to a waffle and an avocado, all pushing a bed on wheels.

Or every day that four carless drivers, all geared up and in uniforms, zip down that same street.

Or ever day that Scooby Dooby Doo (and Shaggy too) gallivant through the crowds with fists and paws pumping to Scooby’s theme song.

But Saturday was not every day in Bar Harbor and all of that happened on Cottage Street for just about an hour that morning.

A whole lot of fast-paced rolling joy joined the bed-racing teams. So did cheering fans who crowded the sidewalks and overflowed onto the street for the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s annual bed race.

A colorful bed on wheels, decorated in a cartoonish style, is being raced down the street by participants in costumes. A crowd gathers on the sidelines, cheering and taking photos of the spectacle during the Bar Harbor Bed Race event.
Camp Beech Cliff’s Mystery Machine
A team of bed racers wearing matching red racing suits with checkered patterns poses for a photo, smiling and celebrating their participation in the Bar Harbor Bed Race, with a crowd watching in the background.
Racing inspired Witham Hotel with a bit of a blow-out
A team of competitors racing in the Bar Harbor bed race, with one young boy at the front of a bed on wheels, while others push from behind. Participants are wearing matching shirts, showing determination as they speed down the street.
Champion Hadley Point Gang
Participants from Acadia Youth Sports race a bed on wheels during the annual bed race in Bar Harbor, with a crowd watching in excitement.
Acadia Youth Sports
Participants in Bar Harbor Bed Race wear matching shirts and proudly push a decorated bed on wheels, while a team member poses playfully at the front.
Acadia Shops

“It’s so cute!” one woman said.

“I love this.”

“Wow. Just wow.”

“Is this real? How is this real?”

The annual event is part of the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce’s Early Bird Pajama Sale.

Crowds gathered on the sidewalks of Cottage Street. People leaned out of windows. Others crept further onto the short race route as local teams vied for the best time and honor of being bed race champions.

Even before the race began, two runners from the Hadley Point Gang were getting warmed up, sprinting up Rodick Street and back down again. It proved a good strategy as the team from the Hadley Point neighborhood took first place again this year.

Witham Family Hotels took a fast second and Camp Beech Cliff also known (for the day) as the Scooby Gang won most spirited. Stay Bar Harbor stayed on brand with a breakfast in bed theme. Acadia Youth Sports had the youngest racer, William, and a valiant effort and great times coming in with a close fourth place. And Acadia Shops epitomized joy as it flew down the closed street. The Bar Harbor Police Department assisted in closing the street for the event.

Past Chamber president Bo Jennings emceed. Deejay Jeff Buffington provided the music the racers ran (and occasionally skipped) to, and Chamber volunteers took times, protected crowds, and determined fouls.

It was the 30th annual Early Bird Pajama Sale and 16th annual Bed Race.

Team members in racing suits energetically pushing a brightly colored bed on wheels during the Bar Harbor bed race, with a cheering crowd in the background.
A group of enthusiastic participants dressed in colorful costumes celebrate at the Bar Harbor Bed Race event, with one person dressed as Scooby-Doo and others cheering in the background.
A cheerful participant in a bed race, wearing a red racing suit and helmet with a playful design, waves from a decorated bed on wheels. Several people, including spectators and team members in matching outfits, gather in the background.
A group of people in brown bathrobes stands smiling at an event, with some taking pictures. A crowd is visible in the background, enjoying the festivities.
A man in a red beanie holds a microphone and speaks energetically, with a red backdrop behind him.
A child in a red hat hugs an adult wearing a costume that resembles food, with a crowd of spectators in the background enjoying a festive event.
A golden retriever wearing a patterned cap, holding a plush toy, gazes intently through a metal fence.
A team of racers in blue shirts pushes a bed on wheels during the Bar Harbor Bed Race, as they propel forward with determination. Spectators can be seen in the background cheering on the participants.
Participants of the Acadia Youth Sports team prepare to race with their decorated bed on wheels at the Bar Harbor Bed Race event.
A team from Acadia Youth Sports competes in a bed race on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor, surrounded by a cheering crowd.
Participants cheer enthusiastically during the Bar Harbor bed race, with one person in a Scooby-Doo costume and others in colorful attire.
A young woman in a purple outfit with a green scarf smiles while surrounded by spectators at a lively event.
A colorful bed on wheels being raced by participants in costumes during the Bar Harbor Bed Race event, with a cheering crowd in the background.
A team participates in the Bar Harbor Bed Race, running with a red bed on wheels adorned with plush lobster toys and blue bags, as spectators cheer in the background.
A group of children in colorful pajamas, some squatting and others sitting, gather on a street during an outdoor event.
A team of three racers in matching red outfits runs with a creatively designed bed on wheels, while a cheering crowd watches from the sidelines during the Bar Harbor Bed Race event.
A group of participants dressed as breakfast foods, including toast, bacon, and avocado, push a bed on wheels during the Bar Harbor Bed Race.
A young man wearing a Hadley Point Gang t-shirt and a colorful winter hat stands holding a large yellow buoy, with a crowd of onlookers in the background.
A smiling person in an olive green jacket and red beanie waves, with buildings in the background.
A team from Acadia Youth Sports energetically pushes a decorated bed on wheels during a bed race event, while onlookers cheer in the background.
Close-up of a Bernese Mountain Dog puppy with a curious expression, featuring a black, brown, and white coat.
A person wearing a red hat raises two fingers in front of a start/finish archway at a race event in Bar Harbor, with crowds visible in the background.

There is a lot more photos over on our Facebook page, here. Photos: Carrie Jones/Bar Harbor Story.

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