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.

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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, surrounded by bubbles next to the word ZERBLE.
▼ 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
    The original Zerble 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

  3. –

    The festival years

    For the next few years Zerble worked the circuit, hauling gear and shuttling musicians while spreading joy (and bubbles) wherever the cart went. Somewhere along the way the eyes migrated inward from their snail-like perch, and the second version traced the mustache in green EL wire so it glowed after dark.

    • Magnolia Fest
    • SpringFest
    • Bear Creek
    • Wanee
    • French Broad River Fest
    Zerble's big blue eyeballs glinting in the dark at a festival campsite.
    Still keeping an eye on things after dark

  4. Leveling up

    In 2016, Gary and Locke Crawford, who own Zerble together, bought a red E-Z-GO and built the version that's still rolling today. Locke handled much of the wiring, with dashboard switches and USB ports all over.

    That's the bright-eyed legend you'll find at LEAF, the Lake Eden Arts Festival in Black Mountain, and it has a page in the LEAF book. Between festivals, home is a garage in West Asheville.

    The retro Zerble logo: today's red cart with googly eyes and a purple mustache in front of a striped synthwave sunset.
    Zerble, the modern era

  5. 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 ▸

  6. 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.

  7. Up next

    The Lake Eden Reunion

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

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, 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 a pair of pocket-size Zerbles that Locke handmade as a gift.

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
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.

Follow @zerble_art_cart