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A parade of pedallers (8 photos)

Local activists got together for some light-hearted fun to promote community and cycling culture

The organizers of Junction Porchfest and members of the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation donned silly hats, played music and paraded through the streets Sunday afternoon to promote cycling and community spirit.

“Today we are gathered on Meadowview Avenue for the 2nd annual Junction Porchfest,” said Jordan Delfs, support worker for the Junction Neighbourhood Group. “It’s a day when we gather on a whole bunch of porches. Today we have three different locations going on and artists and musicians who live in the neighbourhood come and play their music.”

There were activities for kids such as face painting and interactive music as well as draws for prizes donated by local businesses. Local musicians Marty Collier, Tragedy Ann, Bethany Klapwyk and the band Not Worthy provided the entertainment.

“The Junction has a very deep community-based focus and this is one of the few times a year we can all gather,” said Delfs. “People are busy in the summer. They are camping and doing other stuff. So, it is the end of the summer. Everyone is back and getting ready for school and it is kind of a last hurrah where everyone can hang out and get together.”

This year they welcomed members from the Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation to join them.

“They usually have their parade around this time every year as well so this year we figured we would partner with them and make one big event,” Delfs said.

The Guelph Coalition for Active Transportation, GCAT, is a Guelph-based organization that works to promote better and safer cycling infrastructure.

“We’ve been doing parades in this neighbourhood for three or four years,” said GCAT president Yvette Tendick. “The reason we do parades is we are trying to encourage people to get on their bikes and to walk more to show that cycling can be a very fun community building activity.”

The parade Sunday is just one of their community activities.

“What we do is we advocate at City Hall for better cycling infrastructure and we also do it through fun events,” said Tendick. “We have this event. We have the Magnolia Ride every spring. We have the Tweed Ride coming up at the beginning of October where you dress in your tweed or old-fashioned clothing and ride old-fashioned bikes and we end up at a brewery. So, it is pretty fun.”

The parade route Sunday took them up Meadowview Avenue to Inkerman Street, west on Inkerman to Alma Street, south on Alma to Waterloo Avenue then east on Waterloo back to Meadowview. To add to the fun people wore funny hats and blew whistles and other noisemakers. There was even someone wearing a chicken mask.

“I come out just to enjoy community and celebrate cycling,” said Ontario Green Party leader Mike Schriener. “It’s a great event and I think any time you can travel around the neighbourhood with kids on bikes and feel safe and active it’s a good thing.”

The event was free to attend but the organizers were accepting donations.

“We do have plans for future years to raise money for a specific cause but so far we have just had it be a completely free event,” said Delfs. “We accept donations that go back to the artists as well as donations that go towards future Junction events so we can keep doing things like this.”

The GCAT raises money by growing its membership.

“The concept is growing,” said Tendick. “We have about 70 members and more than 500 people on our mailing list. Our mission is to increase quantity, quality and safety of active transportation. We need to develop a culture of regular, ordinary people biking so it’s not just for racers. You don’t necessarily have to be fit to ride a bike. It’s for everybody.”


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Troy Bridgeman

About the Author: Troy Bridgeman

Troy Bridgeman is a multi-media journalist that has lived and worked in the Guelph community his whole life. He has covered news and events in the city for more than two decades.
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