Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest Comes To Union Square This Thursday

Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest Comes To Union Square This ThursdayThis year's finalists. (Photo: SFMTA)
Rose Garrett
Published on July 07, 2015

Looking for a distinctly San Francisco activity to fill your lunch break this week? Head to Union Square for the SFMTA's 52nd annual Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest, which will take place at noon on Thursday, July 9th. 

A longtime agency tradition, the competition began with a closed preliminary round last month, with Muni's cable-car conductors and grips vying for a spot in the finals. On Thursday, the seven finalists will face off against Trini Whittaker, a two-time contest champ, to take home this year's honor.

As in past years, contestants will be judged on rhythm, originality and style. "The idea is to recreate the atmosphere of an operator in service, featuring his or her best showmanship for customers coasting along San Francisco’s scenic cable car lines," says the SFMTA.

Three-time champion Ken Lunardi. (Photo: SFMTA archives)

The event will be emceed by comedienne Debi Durst, and musical accompaniment will come from the Cable Car Division's blues band, Freeman featuring the Abel & Frisco Project. Judges will include SFPD bigwigs, "famed doorman at Sir Francis Drake Hotel" Tom Sweeney, and KTVU reporter Stanley Roberts (of People Behaving Badly fame). 

This year's contest will also mark the final appearance of three-time champion Ken Lunardi, who's retiring this year. "Not every bell is the same," Lunardi says of the contest's challenges. "You have to play according to the bell.”