“It looks like so much fun,” said Shure, 33, who decided to make a monetary donation to the CHIditarod Foundation. “It’s very cold, and that hasn’t stopped all of these people from being a part of it and from having a good time. The vibes are so good. Why wouldn’t I help support it?”

The name CHIditarod is a play on the Alaskan Iditarod sled dog race. CHIditarod organizers have collected more than 280,000 pounds of food and $1 million in direct donations to fight food insecurity. This year, event organizers hope to add about 10,000 pounds of food and $150,000 to that total. The 2025 beneficiary is the Nourishing Hope hunger relief organization, which was at Saturday’s event, collecting food donations fromparticipating teams.

The mission of the race is to not only combat hunger in the Chicago area, but to inspire creative expression, co-founder Devin Breen said.

“What you have here is a whole bunch of our Chicago neighbors, but a lot of them are self-declared non-artists who have realized that they have creative potential,” said Breen, 44, of Oak Park. “And some of these teams have been coming back for 19 years.”

This year’s lineup of teams included operators of a “Wafflepocalypse” food truck; ghosts pushing a “Pac-Man” cart; “Cereal Killers,” or evil versions of cereal brand mascots; dinosaurs in charge of a “Jurassic Kart”; “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” characters pushing a miniature version of the Music Box Theatre marquee; and a band of “Guy Fieri godmothers.”

To complete the race, participants had to hit five checkpoints at different bars and restaurants. The long list of honors included awards for fastest time, best costume, best art cart, rookie of the year, best bribe and the highly coveted best in show.

“The best in show teams are the teams that never break theme,” Breen said. “They never break character. They have an immersive experience.”

The “CHIditidogs” were certainly strong contenders, as they actually grilled and sold hot dogs from their cart.

“I love the arts,” said the team’s co-captain, Joel Luellwitz, aka “eviljoel.”

“The chance to participate in and create something fun is the biggest reason I do it. And helping people is a great thing as well.”

Luellwitz, a previous winner of best art cart, aid his team’s goal is to get a reaction from bystanders.

“When we’re walking down the street and we see someone do a double-take, that’s really the effect we’re going for,” he said. “We had a dog do a double-take a couple years ago. Just seeing that and the look on the children’s faces, that’s what we really do this for.”

The little, fragile hot dog truck is not exactly built for speed.

“We’ll be coming in last,” Luellwitz said, laughing. “We usually don’t finish at all.”

A slightly sturdier option was a version of “The Magic School Bus” vehicle from the beloved PBS cartoon. However, the team behind the cart had to be careful not to spill the test tubes of alcohol shots, cases of slime and other items on their cart.

All dressed as cartoon character Ms. Frizzle, the bus designers were all either science enthusiasts or actual scientists. Among them was Jenny Aber, 41, of Villa Park, who said the event “ticks all the boxes.”

“We’re helping people, we’re having fun and we get to be creative,” she said.

CHIditarod attendees were also inspired and delighted.

“It’s a fun way to spend the day with friends,” said Jarrod Warf, 37, of Wicker Park, who watched the participants from the window of another checkpoint, Midwest Coast Brewing Co. on West Walnut Street. “I like seeing all the little parts and costumes and everything. It’s almost like a Halloween vibe.”

He and his pals were impressed enough to consider entering next year.

“We’ve been talking about it all day,” he said.

But what would be their team name and theme?

“We’re still brainstorming,” he said.