As soon as Mayor Lee Brown sounded the gong at the second annual Human Race, more than 5,000 participants were off, including a 9-foot cowboy.
Walking on stilts, Steve Miller, 34, went through most of the five-kilometer race wearing an oversized red cowboy hat and tan chaps. The KIPPS Academy science teacher made the race with his students, who quickly left him behind.
"I took a smart cut, not a short cut, because there aren't any of those in life," he said.
KIPPS Academy is one of nine beneficiaries of money raised in the noncompetitive race sponsored by Enron in conjunction with the Holocaust Museum Houston. KIPPS, a public charter school for grades 5-9, received more than $10,000 last year, said director of development Laurie Bieber.
Last year's race raised $40,000 from pledges, with an additional donation of $50,000 from the Holocaust Museum. Race coordinators expect this year's race will raise more.
The purpose of the event, which included a wheelchair race and a one-kilometer race for children, was to bring together diverse cultures in the Houston area.
"We're all here trying to be aware that we are all part of one race, the human race," said 12-year-old Katie Bernell of the Beth Israel Synagogue.
"Diversity is a real strength of Houston. It's great to celebrate that diversity," Enron Chairman Ken Lay said.
The race began at The Park Shops at McKinney and wound through downtown, around Sam Houston Park and back down Dallas Street.
On the sidelines, marching bands, clowns and musicians from different cultures entertained spectators. There were also educational signs and demonstrations illustrating the lives of people such as Martin Luther King Jr., Barbara Jordan and Ceaser Chavez.
After the race, a festival of cultures filled The Park Shops. Booths with arts and crafts and face painting attracted children. Booths with food from different cultures attracted all ages, from the pretzels of Germany to the grape leaves of Turkey.
Ericka Soto, 12, dressed in white lace and blue ribbon, performed with three other girls from the Ambassadors International Ballet Folklorical. The girls preformed a dance called La Bruja, meaning the witch, representing Veracruz, Mexico. With lit candles balanced on their heads, the girls swayed to the music.
"It's exciting to show a different culture to people and have them enjoying it," she said.
An American Indian friendship dance ended the cultural experience. Angel Beene, 20, who wore a jingle dress, sometimes called a medicine dress, performed in the dance. The dress, covered with 365 silver cones, represents each day of the year. Legend has it that an ill woman who dances in the dress will become well, Beene said.
Money raised by the Human Race will be divided equally among the organizations. They are: AIDS Foundation Houston, Fifth Ward Enrichment Program, Communities in Schools, Child Advocates, Houston Lesbian and Gay Community Center, SEARCH Homeless Project, Asia Society Texas, and Crisis Intervention of Houston.
