Chicago

Chicago snowplow naming contest pays tribute to Bozo, Lollapalooza

The plows pay homage to iconic Chicago characters and landmarks, and were announced this week

CHICAGO, USA – FEBRUARY 09: A snow plow truck clears snow on the road after the blizzard in Chicago, Illinois, United States on February 09, 2018. (Photo by Bilgin S. Sasmaz/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Snowbody does winter like Chicago, and after receiving an avalanche of creative names, Chicago officials have plowed through the list and chosen six new snowplow names for the city’s fleet.

The names were chosen from a list of 50 finalists released by the city earlier this month, with the six names to be affixed to plows in the coming weeks, according to officials.

‘Bozo the Plown’ was among those chosen, paying homage to the iconic Bozo the Clown character that delighted Chicago audiences for decades.

‘Lollaplowlooza’ represents a play on the name Lollapalooza, the annual music festival that brings thousands of fans to Chicago’s Grant Park.

‘My Kind of Plow’ is a tribute to the song “My Kind of Town,” which was released in the 1960s and featured Frank Sinatra crooning about his love of the city of Chicago.

‘Snower Wacker’ is a play on the street name of Lower Wacker Drive, which has of course been famous (or infamous, depending on one’s perspective) as it winds its way underneath the city. It featured prominently in the 1980 film “Blues Brothers.”

‘Scoop, There It Is!’ is a snowplow-centric play on the song title “Whoomp! (There It Is)” by Tag Team, a tune associated with sporting events throughout the country that was released in the early 1990s.

Finally, ‘Bean There, Plowed That’ references Chicago’s iconic “Cloud Gate” sculpture, which is more commonly known as “The Bean.” That sculpture resides in Chicago’s Millennium Park, and was designed by Anish Kapoor in the early 2000s.

The city’s snowplow fleet is still busy taking care of fresh snowfall on Wednesday, but the newly named plows will get their new nameplates in coming weeks, according to Chicago officials.

Contact Us