ArtBeat cycles and recycles
Somerville Arts Council has always been about combining disparate elements for their outdoor ArtBeat festival.
Program manager Rachel Strutt says the goal for this year’s program, “Green” is to “meld and celebrate” the arts culture and the biking culture, and maybe get people to think about the environment in the process.
Along with a massive lineup of bands on three stages, “Green” will have vendors, community organization information tables, and tips on new ways to go green at every turn.
“Green is super trendy right now,” says Strutt. “But I hope that when people go to the festival and start talking to people and learning about local organizations, they will start making small concrete changes in their everyday life.”
Aside from celebrating Somerville’s illustrious reputation for having a rich artistic culture, Strutt says the festival will promote bike friendliness and hopefully, influence some bike path construction in Somerville in the process.
“I think a lot of artists tend to be liberal and forward thinking and often they don’t have a lot of money,” says Strutt. “For those reasons combined you’ll find that a lot of artists are also cyclists, so it seems kind of like a natural pairing.”
Trikes that have been pimped out and/or made into works of art will have a home at the Different Spokes Bike Exhibit, located at the center of David Square. A handful of cycling masterpieces will be on display, including a tech-savvy bike used by Redbones Barbecue food deliverers and a bike decorated by children in Somerville’s Art in the Garden summer arts and environment education program.
Outside the exhibit, locally renowned cyclist and Somerville Bicycle Committee regular Joel Bennett will have his famous bike with a canoe attached to the back available for decoration. At 5:15, a “Green Brigade Parade” will take place for all cyclists, with Bennett and his canoe leading the way.
Biking may intimidate those with poor coordination or fear of getting hit by angry Bostonian drivers, but Nicole Rioles, coordinator for the organization Shape Up Somerville, assures that the purpose of the festival is to welcome non-bikers into the biking world. She and Shape Up Somerville will have a “bike valet” at the festival to treat bikers like “royalty” and answer any questions a novice might have.
“Not everyone feels comfortable biking in cities,” says Rioles.
Rioles will also be providing walking maps for those who aren’t ready to strap on their training wheels just yet.
She says going green may have heavy connotations, but riding a bike is a great way to start the conversion.
“Save money and get healthy,” she says. “With gas at almost five bucks, why not?”
Art Beat ’08
Friday and Saturday
Davis Square, Somerville
MBTA: Red Line to Davis
www.somervilleartscouncil.org