Imagine a Calgary street festival that celebrates cycling culture, with tons of live music from local bands, fitness and yoga classes, belly dancing, bike tune-ups and workshops, a kids area, mandala painting, a fun bike procession AND a slow bike race with five Olympic athletes, all along the length of a beautiful river. You’ve just imagined Bow River Flow, as planned for this Sunday, August 21st.
This is the third year for the festival, which takes place largely along Memorial Drive, and which is designed to get communities out on their bike, skateboard or scooter, celebrating local culture, and re-envisioning how we use public spaces, like roads.
All you’re consuming is the experience – it’s not a shopping event; it’s totally non-commercialized, without a vendor in sight. That lends a really different dynamic to the day, putting the focus squarely on fun activities and meeting people in your community – and celebrating human-powered transportation!
Check out these two amazing books on feats of human-powered travel:
Beyond the Horizon: the Great Race to Finish the First Human-Powered Circumnavigation of the Planet by Colin Angus
Pedaling to Hawaii: A Human-Powered Odyssey by Stevie Smith