Zerble has a page in Live Life Like a Festival, the LEAF book. Pre-order a copy ▸

Zerble is a golf cart with enormous googly eyes and a big purple mustache, blowing bubbles at festival crowds since 2011 and now starring in a video game, too.

Play the game Follow on Instagram

Bring the bubbles, collect the smiles.

Sticker art of Zerble: a red golf cart with a yellow roof, giant blue googly eyes, a fluffy purple mustache, and tongue out, with a trail of rainbow bubbles drifting behind.
▼ the story so far

The story so far

It all started on a napkin

Zerble has been rolling around festivals since 2011, picking up a few upgrades along the way.

  1. Sketched on a napkin

    Gary was building MagBuds, a volunteer registration system for the festivals at Florida's Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (Magnolia Fest and SpringFest among them), when word came that he'd be getting his own golf cart at the fest.

    He got the news at Mo Daddy's, a cornerstone of Asheville's music scene, and sketched Zerble right there on a napkin.

    The original 2011 pencil sketch of Zerble on a folded paper napkin: a golf cart with eyes on stalks and a curly mustache.
    The original napkin, 2011

  2. Eyes on stalks

    The first eyeballs were blue marbled bouncy balls from Kmart, primed white everywhere but the iris, with headlamps taped to the back so they'd glow after dark.

    They perched out on the roof corners like a snail's eyes, and a mustache cut from black posterboard finished the face.

    The first Zerble eyeball: a big bouncy ball primed white, with its marbled blue iris left showing.
    Eyeball #1, fresh coat of primer
    Two friends pose beside the original Zerble at dusk, each resting a hand on a giant eyeball glowing blue from the headlamp inside, above a black posterboard mustache and a MAG BUDS sign.
    Lit up at dusk, headlamps and all

  3. –

    The Suwannee years

    For many festivals, Zerble scooted around the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park, hauling gear and shuttling musicians while spreading joy (and bubbles) wherever they went. Each fest, Zerble was reborn anew, with a new set of eyes, stache, and various other accessories. The mustache began to glow.

    By Bear Creek in November 2014, Zerble’s mustache had gone fuzzy and purple, and he sported a fancy bow tie!

    • Magnolia Fest
    • SpringFest
    • Bear Creek
    • Wanee
    An early Zerble on a wooded festival trail: a golf cart with blue eyeballs on the roof corners, a black posterboard mustache outlined in glowing EL wire, and a pink pool-noodle smile.
    Version two: EL wire and a pool-noodle smile
    Zerble at Bear Creek in November 2014: a white golf cart with blue eyeballs on the roof corners, a fuzzy purple mustache traced in EL wire, and a big blue bow tie on the front.
    Bear Creek, November 2014

  4. Florida to North Carolina

    Zerble’s build kept evolving, with new, experimental eyeball mounts, the occasional schnoz, and maybe even a cow and/or a monkey.

    He started popping up beyond the Florida festivals, too, up in North Carolina at places like the French Broad River Festival in Hot Springs.

    Two friends sit in Zerble at Suwannee SpringFest 2016: a cream golf cart with eyeballs on pipe stalks, an orange nose on the windshield, a fuzzy purple mustache laced with EL wire, and a pink pool-noodle smile.
    SpringFest, March 2016
    The rented Zerble built at the French Broad River Festival in May 2016: eyeballs on pipe stalks, a patterned roof cover, an orange nose, a fuzzy purple mustache laced with EL wire, and a plush cow head and sock monkey on the front.
    French Broad River Fest, May 2016

  5. Leveling up

    Later that year, Gary and Locke Crawford bought a red E-Z-GO off Craigslist and built the version that’s still rolling today. The eyes finally moved inward from their snail-like perch to a more central, solid dashboard mount, and the mustache got a nice upgrade as well. Locke was the mastermind behind much of the wiring, with dashboard switches and USB ports all over. The bubble machine has been through many iterations (it’s hard to find a bubble machine that will last more than one festival!)

    That’s when the bright-eyed legend started popping up at every LEAF, the Lake Eden Arts Festival in Black Mountain. He’s even earned a page in the upcoming LEAF book. Between festivals, home is a garage in West Asheville.

    Today's Zerble at night beside a festival beer tent, its giant eyes glowing blue and the purple mustache outlined in warm lights.
    Night life, mustache lit
    Close-up of one of Zerble's bubble machines mounted on the cart: a black housing with a googly eye and a purple spiky mohawk, blowing a big iridescent bubble.
    One of many bubble machines

  6. Just married

    On July 1, 2017, Zerble carried Gary and Fox at their wedding in Old Fort, North Carolina, dressed up for the day in eucalyptus and ferns.

    Gary and Fox ride Zerble on their wedding day: the red cart trimmed with eucalyptus and ferns, with its big eyes, orange nose, and fuzzy purple mustache.
    Gary and Fox, July 1, 2017

  7. I Rode Zerble

    Did you get your hands on one of the rare, limited-edition “I Rode Zerble” buttons at Spring LEAF?!

    A round pin-back button reading I RODE ZERBLE, held up in front of the real Zerble: a red golf cart with giant white eyeballs and a fuzzy purple mustache, parked at a festival campsite.
    The button, with the real thing behind it

  8. A token of our appreciation

    For Fall LEAF in 2019, Gary and Locke designed special wooden Zerble Fan Club tokens and laser-engraved every one of them on a cheap engraver at a snail’s pace. It is estimated that these are worth somewhere in the bazillions of doll-hairs by now, and they’re only continuing to appreciate in value.

    A round wooden token laser-engraved with Zerble, eyes, mustache, and a trail of bubbles, ringed by the word ZERBLE. The back of the wooden token, engraved FAN CLUB MEMBER inside a decorative border.

  9. Zerble goes to Disney World

    For Thanksgiving 2019, Zerble made the trip to Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground at Walt Disney World, where the regular rental carts looked a little plain by comparison.

    Zerble parked in front of the Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground sign at Walt Disney World.
    Fort Wilderness, 2019
    Zerble parked in a row of plain green rental golf carts at Fort Wilderness, the only one with eyes and a mustache.
    Spot the Zerble

  10. A new rider

    Gary’s son Darwin joined the crew in a Zerble onesie that Locke made. Locke had also built an RC Zerble, presented at Darwin’s baby shower.

    Baby Darwin in a hand-drawn Zerble onesie, sitting on a lap at a sunny campsite.
    Darwin in his Zerble onesie, May 2023
    Darwin crawls toward the RC Zerble, a toy cart with googly eyes and a fuzzy purple mustache, with the real Zerble's giant eyes and purple mustache parked in the background.
    RC Zerble by Locke, with the real one behind

  11. Under the northern lights

    On May 11, 2024, the northern lights made a rare appearance over LEAF, and Zerble lit up right along with the sky.

    Zerble glowing at night at LEAF under a pink and purple northern-lights sky, eyes lit bright, mustache trimmed in blue lights, with a red barn in the background.
    LEAF, May 11, 2024

  12. Zerble gets a game

    Gary started building Zerble at the Festival, a free browser game where you drive Zerble through a festival that never ends. More than 400 commits later, the crowd smiles back and the drum circles get louder after dark.

    Take Zerble for a spin ▸

  13. Shuttling the Art Walk

    Zerble ran shuttle duty at the East-West Asheville Fall Art Walk, Lamplight AVL’s neighborhood celebration of art, music, and performance, close to home in West Asheville.

  14. Up next

    The Lake Eden Reunion

    Zerble's next stop is the Lake Eden Reunion, so keep an eye out.

Zerbubbles everywhere.

From the archives

The early years

Before the red E-Z-GO came along, Zerble went through a few looks. Here are some favorite old snapshots, oldest first.

The original Zerble at a wooded campsite in 2011: a green golf cart with giant blue eyeballs mounted on the roof corners, a black posterboard mustache, and a MAG BUDS sign on the hood.
The MagBuds cart, 2011
Two riders lounge in the original green Zerble at SpringFest 2011, feet up behind the windshield, under the giant blue eyeballs.
Lounging at SpringFest, 2011
The early Zerble's big blue eyeballs glinting in the dark at a festival campsite.
Early days, after dark
An early Zerble at night at a Suwannee festival, glowing eyeballs on the roof corners, a black mustache outlined in EL wire, and a PARTY TIME balloon for a nose.
Party time at a Suwannee fest
Two friends in Zerble at Bear Creek in November 2014, with the eyeballs repainted red, a fuzzy purple mustache traced in EL wire, and a blue bow tie.
Red-eye Sunday at Bear Creek
Zerble lit up at night at Bear Creek in 2014: glowing eyeballs, a mustache strung with colored lights, and a bow tie outlined in blue EL wire.
Bear Creek after dark
Zerble at night at SpringFest 2016, the eyeballs on their stalks blazing white and the purple mustache traced in glowing green and orange EL wire.
SpringFest 2016, lights on

Meet the handlers

Locke & Gary

Zerble belongs to Gary Reckard and Locke Crawford in equal parts, and between them they keep the eyes glowing and the bubbles coming.

Gary and Locke drive Zerble through a festival crowd on a sunny day: a red golf cart with giant blue-and-white eyes, a purple fur mustache trimmed in lights, and bubbles floating all around.
Locke and Gary at the wheel

All access

Gary Reckard

Handler & co-owner

  • Dreamed up Zerble, who was born down on the Suwannee River
  • Made the eyes, the mustache, and the bubble machine mount

All access

Locke Crawford

Handler & co-owner

  • Did much of the wiring
  • Throws a lot of the party: golf-cart karaoke, surprise dance parties, and mobile brass band parades
  • Brought Lurleen to life
Locke in a hot dog costume and a friend in a red inflatable-tube-man costume pose on either side of Zerble at French Broad River Fest.
Locke, in hot dog mode, at French Broad River Fest
The cover of Live Life Like a Festival by Jennifer Pickering: the title in cream and gold on deep teal, above an open book with a sun emblem, mountains, and a lake, celebrating 30 years of LEAF Global Arts.

Now on pre-order

Zerble’s in the book!

Zerble has a page in Live Life Like a Festival, Jennifer Pickering’s coffee table book celebrating 30 years of LEAF Global Arts, with archival photos, artist reflections, creative prompts, and stories from the festival community.

Pre-orders help bring the book to life, so grab a copy now and look for the golf cart with the googly eyes.

Pre-order the book About the book
Sticker art of Zerble and Lurleen side by side in a flower garden: Zerble with that purple mustache and Lurleen with raffia hair, a flower crown, and pink lips, under the words Zerble & Lurleen.

Better together

Zerble & Lurleen

Every festival needs a love story, and Zerble found one in Lurleen. She’s a real cart, too, brought to life by Locke, and the two of them share a garage in West Asheville between festivals.

She shows up in the game, too. Somewhere out past the main stage there's a shy cart with a basket of flowers, and if you drive up slowly enough, the air fills with hearts.

Free to play, right in your browser

Zerble at the Festival

A screenshot from the game at dusk: Zerble, googly eyes and purple mustache and all, rolls down a dirt path past festival tents while a festival-goer turns to watch.
Dusk on the festival grounds

Drive Zerble through a festival that builds itself as you go, with stages, food trucks, drum circles, lakes, and forests in every direction. Glide past the crowd with your bubbles drifting behind you, and the smiles come flying back.

It runs on a laptop or a phone with nothing to install. Use WASD or the on-screen thumbstick to drive, and hit the horn when you need some attention.

  • Just Cruisin'The endless, no-pressure way to play.
  • Festival RunEach festival day brings scarcer bubble juice and stricter marshals, so see how long you can last.
Play now Pixel-art sticker of Zerble with a pink roof, big blue eyes, and a curly purple mustache, puffing bubbles.

The art wall

Zerble, every which way

Zerble has turned up in all kinds of art over the years, right down to the pocket-size Zerbles Locke made by hand.

A psychedelic poster with the word ZERBLE in glossy blue bubble letters, surrounded by swirling color, mushrooms, and planets.
The psychedelic poster
A painting of Zerble flying through outer space, glowing googly eyes and purple mustache, with bubbles trailing past a spiral galaxy and a ringed planet.
Out for a cosmic cruise
The retro Zerble logo: today's red cart with googly eyes and a purple mustache in front of a striped synthwave sunset.
The retro logo
Two toy golf carts on a tree stump, each fitted with googly eyes and a curly mustache, one blue and one purple.
Pocket-size Zerbles, handmade by Locke
Psychedelic sticker art of Zerble on black, with swirling pink eyes, a fluffy purple mustache, flames, and the word ZERBLE.

Follow along

Zerble on Instagram

@zerble_art_cart

Zerble posts photos of the real cart out at festivals, along with plenty of art. There’s a Facebook page too, though it gets updated less often.

Follow @zerble_art_cart Zerble on Facebook