There are a lot of horrifically unexpected things that can come from the impending "too big to fail" El Niño (see: venomous sea snakes). But an inner tube race down the LA River? There's something amazing we never saw coming.
Kurt Braunohler, one of our favorite stand-ups, and Lauren Cook, one of our favorite storytellers, are launching the L.A.zy River, a competitive inner tube race down the river to welcome what's predicted to be a particularly wet rainy season.
The husband-and-wife duo are still working out a date for the event, though the plan is for the weekend after the first big winter rainfall—because otherwise those inner tubes aren't going anywhere in our notably dry river. Following an opening ceremony and inner tube christening, as well as a "respectful" rain dance, the tubin' action will get going at what we can only imagine will be a blistering pace. All will be welcome to watch, participate and attend the after party and awards presentation.
UPDATE (1/6): Though the first El Niño rains are here, the event won't be held until after January. "We want to insure that we can float down a LAZY River, and not drown in a violent torrent of hypodermic needles," reads a statement on the website. But rest assured, it's still happening and will be just as "dirty, dangerous and insane" as planned.
UPDATE (3/3): After a drier winter than expected, El Niño is supposedly arriving for real this time, so the L.A.zy River has a tentative date: March 19. The official call will be made 48 hours before the event, at which point the time and location will be sent out.
It's not the first time we've seen Braunohler suit up in a Speedo; the Hot Tub host jet-skied the length of the Mississippi River to raise money to send 500 goats and 1,000 chickens to Africa (or as he put it, to "get wet for goats").
To get updates on when the event will take place and find out what items you will need to bring with you to participate, head to the duo's website.
