Saturday, February 15, 2014

Bikey Things Happening and Dates to Save

Just a quick post to let you know about some upcoming events and a few things going on during these last days of winter. We're looking forward to the sunnier days of Spring!

March 1 South Sound Sustainability Expo
We will have a booth at this free event at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center. Stop by to learn more about Kidical Mass and ask us about riding bikes in Tacoma.
This public event is intended to provide residents and business owners in the greater Tacoma metropolitan area a place to discover services, products, companies, and agencies in our region that address sustainability needs in our community.
If you're driving to the event, I suggest parking at the Tacoma Dome Parking Garage and taking the LINK lightrail directly to the convention center. Kids love to ride the LINK!

5th Grade Bike Poster Contest
Have your 5th grader enter this Washington Bikes poster contest for a chance at prizes, fame, and a chance to go to the national competition.
The contest asks 5th grade students to create a poster around the famous John F. Kennedy quote, “Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.”
Entries are due March 7. Maybe your student's whole school would like to participate? It looks like there were no entries from Tacoma last year. You can put us on the map!

April 12 - Junior Daffodil Parade
Kidical Mass Tacoma will be riding in this non-motorized parade in the Proctor District. More details will be posted here on the blog soon, but plan on meeting us the morning of the parade at Mason Middle School to decorate bikes while we wait for the parade to start. The parade moves at a walking pace, so this is a great opportunity for younger kids on push bikes and training wheels. The theme for the 2014 parade is Ready, Set, Grow!

May 3 Tacoma Bike Swap and Kid Bike Rodeo
Bike Month kicks off with a huge bike swap event at the University of Puget Sound Field House. Kidical Mass Tacoma will be there to host a bike rodeo for kids who want to test their riding skills on our obstacle course.

May 7 National Bike to School Day
Now is a great time to talk with your PTA and start organizing a Bike To School event at your school. There were Walk To School Day events hosted at several Tacoma elementary schools last fall and the turn-outs were eye-opening. There is tons of information at www.walkbiketoschool.org. Let us know in the comments if you're planning an event at your school.

May 17 Kidical Mass Tacoma in the Hilltop
Our first official ride of the season. We'll ride from Peoples Park to Zina's Place at McCarver Elementary and back to Peoples Park. There's a playground stop in the middle and a free snack at the end. We're working on a few additional surprises, too.

New #Bike253 Calendar on Exit133.com
As part of a grassroots effort to promote bike riding in Tacoma, the folks at local blog Exit133.com have created a special events page on their site where you can post upcoming bike ride and activities. Posting is free. Our events will be listed there as well. Check it out!

http://www.exit133.com/bike253/