A WEEK OF CAR FREE EVENTS! September 20 - 26, 2004
contact info for each event below
Monday, September 20, GUIDED BUS 'N HIKE trip from McMaster University to Spencer Gorge (Tews/Websters Falls). Take a city bus then hike the beautiful Spencer Gorge to Websters Falls in Dundas.
Meet your guide, Tony Hendry, at the front entrance of the McMaster Medical Centre (Main Street) at 5:30 p.m. sharp. Full-time McMaster Students use your student card with valid HSR sticker for a free ride.
Bring water and a snack, wear proper clothing, some section rugged terrain. Aprox. 2 hour trip.
Contact Tony: Nocleanair@aol.com
Tuesday, September 21, GUIDED BICYCLE TOUR from McMaster to the Waterfront Trail. Local Historian Brian Henley will mount-up to lead the bicycle tour of the historical harbour along a multi-use path (i.e. suitable for cycling, roller blading and walking). (Under two-hours, easy ride)
Meet at McMaster University's Wentworth House (at Sterling Street) at 5:45 p.m. sharp.
Bring your bike in to the Mac Cycle Co-Op (at Wentworth House) an hour before the departure for a free bike check up! Contact Paul: PAUL.UY@learnlink.mcmaster.ca
Tuesday, September 21, CAR FREE ART, POETRY, MUSIC and FILM night, 7:30 p.m. at the STAIRCASE CAFE THEATRE (27 Dundurn Street North) Celebrate Car Free Day with performances by poets Jeff Seffinga, April A. Severin, Tony Hendry, music by Pauline Kajiura, and John Buffalo Shield plus OPEN MIC.
Check out the CAR FREE ART SHOW in the cafe with art by Gord Pullar, April A. Severin, Richard Preston, Peter Karuna, Tony Hendry, Myles Hagar, Matt McInnis, Jennifer Weiler, Cees Van Gemerden, and others. Contact April: aseverin@sympatico.ca
At 9:00 p.m. it's the feature film RUN LOLA RUN! in the Staircase Theatre.
Wednesday, September 22, CAR FREE DAY street parties - It's your street, take it back! Invite your neighbours out for a traffic-calming street-party. Turn the tables on cars by making them "visitors" in your area. Don't want to party? Hold a street garage sale, road hockey, etc. Going for it? We want to know about it! Send an e-mail to grassroots@hwcn.org. Contact Randy - grassroots@hwcn.org
Wednesday, September 22, McMaster Celebrates Car Free with a non-stop cycle of events, including Quadricycle tours with Darryl, cargo carts, H20 for cyclists and transit riders and more. Mac Cycle will be doing repair workshops, safe cycling course and bike buddy offers
Thursday, September 23 - "BIKE DRIVE-IN" at GAGE PARK BANDSHELL. Free Car Free movies outdoors in beautiful Gage Park (Gage and Main, Hamilton) Movies begin at dusk. Contact Gord: gp@nas.net
Friday, September 24 - CRITICAL MASS BIKE RIDE, 5:30 pm Hess and George Street. Since May 1998, Hamilton Critcal Mass has been taking the street to celebrate one of humanity's best-loved inventions: The Bicycle! Grab a friend and head down to Hess Village for this 45 minute tour of the downtown.
Saturday, September 25 from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m.- STREET RECLAIMING - King William between James and Hughson is the place to be Saturday for the CAR FREE STREET RECLAIMING PARTY. Pepper Jack Cafe is hosting a musical event featuring tonnes of local talent including Matthew de Zoete, The Perennials, John Plescan, Punchbuggy Yellow, Soup & Ante, Raging Grannies and more. TLC is supplying the sod to convert pavement into a green oasis, and there will be street performers, magicians, the Scorpiotron interactive drum-kit/sculpture, face painting, badminton, and free bike repair clinics by Recycle Cycles.
While you are there check out the local eateries for some downtown cooking.
Walk, Cycle, Take the Bus, Car Pool, but get there for the best street party in Hamilton!
Randy contact grassroots@hwcn.org 905-627-2696
Sunday, September 26 - CAR FREE COOTES - Ward One councillor Brian McHattie will lead a nature hike in the Carolinian forest and wetland known as Cootes Paradise. Owned by the Royal Botanical Gardens, it is steps away from the Westdale/McMaster/Dundas areas.
Brian is former President of the Hamilton Naturalist Club.
Meet at 10:00 a.m. at the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster office in the McMaster Student Centre room 229. Contact Randy: grassroots@hwcn.org
Background
Transportation for Liveable Communities (TLC) is an all-volunteer "working group" of the Ontario Public Interest Research Group (OPIRG) McMaster. TLC takes an active roll in advocating and agitating for sustainable transportation options for Hamilton.TLC began celebrating Car Free Day in 2000 with a street demonstration/party and parade downtown Hamilton.
Europe has been holding annual CFD celebrations and events since 1999.
By far our most successful event was a STREET PARTY on King William Street, just east of Hughson in 2002 (last year's party got rained out).
Street musicians including Steve Sinnicks and Raging Grannies, Live DJs, Huffy the Clown with his balloon art, we even unrolled sod to temporarily de-pave the street. We used "street-hockey ettiquite" to limit access to motor vehicles.
One of the goals in celebrating Car Free Day is to get people thinking about streets as public spaces and the way cars have encroached and despoiled our city. It's also a chance to be part of an experiment to transform the space into a more liveable, community-supportive environment. Yes, you are allowed to have fun!
In past years we've had support from the Art Gallery of Hamilton, where two successive Sundays were given over to bike-themed films shown at the gallery for Car Free Day. One year, the Hamilton Street Railway provided thousands of Car Free Day leaflets on all their buses. Our cousins at Recycle Cycles have provided free bike tune-ups, and the ACT office at McMaster has been a great community partner.
We've had articles in the Hamilton Spectator and VIEW magazine and reports on Hamilton Indymedia and CFMU 93.3 fm about Car Free Day, and continue to work to expand the event.
