When you look at something new with an eye for solutions, you may be surprised what you find.

This past weekend, Zelienople held its first-ever bed race — a concept Mayor Tom Oliverio came up with while visiting his daughter in Wisconsin a few years ago.

Elsewhere, bed races are beloved annual traditions and popular fundraisers.

The premise of the race? Teams compete by pushing beds on wheels down a street a predetermined length. There are often five to six people per team, one of whom sits on the bed while the others wheel it down the road. And as an additional part of the fun, awards are often given for decorating the beds.

Fundraiser Help pitches bed races as “fun event(s) to raise funds.” The website suggests offering awards to the fastest, wackiest and best themed beds.

An article in the Perry County News published earlier this month reflects on bed races that took place in Tell City, Ind., during the 1970s and 1980s. The article, “Remembering the bed races,” says the goal was to “bring people downtown to the merchants.”

In Bethlehem, Pa., bed races in November brought hundreds of students together for a tradition that started in the 1980s and 1990s, was discontinued, but resumed in 2007 and has been popular ever since.

Here in Butler County, the Zelienople event raised money Saturday for the Zelienople Area Public Library.

The local event was all in good fun. Teams raced down High Street, one with a large inflatable unicorn in tow. Each team had two chances to push their homemade beds down the street. The races were timed and the team with the best time won.

It was a unique race that is expected to continue next year. According to the mayor, there is already interest and planning for the next event could begin soon.

All and all, the bed race wasn’t an expensive or grand event — not everything has to be elaborate in nature. It was simply a fun way to bring the community together and raise money for a good cause.

We applaud Zelienople for trying something new and planning to see it through with another version of the event next year.

— TL