The 46th annual Cloverdale Bed Races rolled out to another tremendous success May 15, according to Paul Orazietti.
“I'm absolutely stunned by how much spirit is in this community,” said Orazietti. “And it was a little touch and go because of the weather."
The inclement weather didn't hold off the crowds either. There were nearly as many people as there were last year when the weather was nice.
Orazietti, executive director of the Cloverdale BIA, the organization who has hosted the bed races since 1976, said the event wouldn’t have gone ahead if competitor safety was an issue.
“There was some consideration as to whether we would cancel the event, but everybody wanted to stick with it. Everybody wanted to race,” he said. “This is another example of how special this community is.”
He said the amount of support he saw “brought a tear” to his eye.
“A lot of this wouldn't have happened without all the various volunteers that have been with the event for a long, long time,” Orazietti explained. “It's been running 46 years and they still come out. It's all members of the community that are coming out. They're not hired guns. So, this really is a reflection of who we are as a community.”
Orazietti called the spectacle that is The Rolling of the Beds “unprecedented” this year. He’s never seen so many disqualifications and no team has ever cleaned up as the Surrey Firefighters did with so much hardware. The firefighters won the women's division, the men's division, the mixed division, and best dressed awards.
“That's a first because usually Turkey has been so strong that his teams are almost invincible,” he noted. “Turkey is one of the originators of the event. He raced in the first race in 1976. So, he has a huge passion for it.”
Turkey Kielesinski chuckled that it was pretty tough for him because his team didn't get beaten, they beat themselves. For the second time in three years, the Turkey's Party Makers Racing Team got disqualified for not staying in their lane.
In 2023, their bed racer went up on the curb, resulting in an immediate disqualification. They won it all in 2024, regaining the Bed Pan Trophy. And this year, their bed crossed the centreline of the racing strip, also resulting in an immediate disqualification.
When the Turkey's team careened out of their lane this year, they went wheel’s up and narrowly avoided what would have been a horrific collision with the firemen. But he firemen saw an opportunity to power past Turkey’s two-wheel folly and the Turkey’s racer seemed paused in mid-air. Seizing a split-second moment with a split-second decision, the frontliners hit their afterburners and ripped through the smallest of gaps to power across the line for Bed Pan glory.
Turkey was all smiles after the race despite suffering his second loss in three years.
“The weather was really bad this year, you see it was slick,” Turkey howled. “ There were four disqualifications. That's a record. A record!”
He chortled that his disqualification at the end of the races, coupled with the Atkinson Landscaping disqualification at the opening of the races, provided the Surrey Firefighters with an opportunity to come up the middle and take all the hardware.
“The firefighters had winter tires on still,” revealed Turkey. “We didn't. We had the summer stuff on. The racing slicks,” he laughed.
“The pit crew should have changed our wheels,” he roared.
Turkey added he was very happy with the way the event turned out and was thankful at how many people showed up to support Cloverdale's unique tradition.
He also revealed there’ll be no rest for the wicked as his Party Makers Racing Team will begin training for next year immediately.
“We start training on Monday,” he chuckled. “I'm bringing them in on the holiday Monday.”
Rick Hugh, 1st vice president of the Cloverdale Rodeo and Exhibition Association, was the head-race marshaller, starting-horn blower, and photo-finish finalizer for the famous event.
He summed up the event in two words: chills and spills.
“This was another one for the ages,” said Hugh. “We had it all. In 46 years, I don’t think we’ve had that much excitement in one race. The weather certainly didn’t dampen spirits.”
He too was very happy with the way it turned out because at 4:30 he thought the race might be cancelled. He said they were still debating it until 60 minutes ahead of the staring horn.
Hugh was amazed by how much hardware the firefighters took home.
“I haven't seen that before from one team,” he noted. “They did themselves proud. And for the SPS, for first-timers, they should be proud as well.”
Rob Paterson, was once again the event emcee. He played music from the stage—the flat deck of a classic truck on loan from the B.C. Vintage Truck Museum—and provided play-by-play commentary for the races.
To start off the evening, there was a children’s bike parade. Kids decorated their bicycles and pedalled several laps up and down the bed racing strip before random prizes were awarded.
“It's about fun and community spirit,” added Orazietti. “It’s about coming together and celebrating this community. And the rodeo. This is the first big long weekend of the year in the first big event on the calendar.”
2025 Winner’s Circle
Chamber Pot Trophy (women’s division): Surrey Firefighters; Bed Pan Trophy (men's division): Surrey Firefighters; Bill Reid Centre of the Universe Trophy (mixed division): Surrey Firefighters; Best dressed Trophy: Surrey Firefighters; High School Boys: Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School; High School Girls: Team Purple Passion.
