Coming Sept. 19, BoulderGreenStreets, a “street liberation project” will unfold its one-mile-long, car-free community festival along East Pearl Street, from 15th St. to Folsom.
Festival activities run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and include play space for walking, bike-riding, road races, and games.
Community impresario and BoulderGreenStreets.org founder Hillary Griffith, who is managing this project, envisions over 50 free public classes, demonstrations and workshops. They will showcase some of the best that Boulder entrepreneurs, artists, and sports and fitness experts have to offer.
BoulderGreenStreets is following the path of larger U.S. cities such as Portland, San Francisco and New York City, in which car-free community play spaces take over downtown city streets each Sunday.
In turn, these “street liberation” events are modeled after the biggest bike oriented event of all: the famous 70-mile-long Ciclovia, which takes place every Sunday in Bogota, Columbia. Each Sunday, Bogota, with a population of 8.5 million people, closes over 70 miles of its major streets to cars, and turns them over to two million bike-riding, road-running, game playing citizens.
“Challenging the assumption that major streets exist only for cars is a powerful stance,” says Hillary. “Turning our city streets green, even for just one day, celebrates Boulder’s active lifestyle, our strong interest in sustainability, and offers us a new way to highlight a community “at play.”
BoulderGreenStreets’ 1-mile-long festival will include five activity zones. Each will feature activities such as running and cycling, yoga, workshops and crafts demonstrations, dancing, music, food, and link to neighborhood block parties.
For more information or to register your activity or event, contact Hillary Griffith, at BoulderGreenStreets.org or email: info@bouldergreenstreets.org