Festival Season Begins with Bicycle Night & Art On The Town
(DDA, 5/13/2011)
Downtown Ferndale will be buzzing next Third Thursday and into May’s third weekend with back to back activities that embrace two of the district’s best features – bikeability and walkability.
In honor of the national May Is Bike Month campaign, Downtown Ferndale invites residents and neighbors to ride their bicycles to town Third Thursday, May 19 from 5 to 9 pm. Bicyclists will be welcomed with on-street bike parking in designated spaces on West Nine and in marked locations along Woodward Ave.
Cyclists will also be provided an opportunity to pick up paper work to license their bicycles, have their helmets properly fitted and safety tune their ride. Many businesses will be offering Bicycle Night specials as a reward for riding to town.
Also debuting that evening will be Ferndale Downtown Development Authority’s brand new brochure — Bicyclists’ Guide to getting around town, which includes a map and bike rack locations. Details of Bicycle Night and participating businesses will be available at www.DowntownFerndale.com.
On Saturday, May 21, Art on the Town begins a two week display of art created by students in the Ferndale Public Schools. Students from Roosevelt, Kennedy and Coolidge Schools, as well as those from the middle and high schools, will display their art in businesses all around town. Students have pledged to donate proceeds from the sale of their art to the district’s Visual Arts Program to be used to provide supplies to the program.
The Art Walk officially runs from noon to 4 pm on Saturday, May 21 but the art will remain on display through the event’s grand finale featuring select student work at the Loving Touch on June 4.
The Art on the Town Finale runs from 6 – 9 pm and includes appetizers, beverages, entertainment and a silent auction. Participating art walk businesses will be listed on the DDA website and maps will be available on Saturday in front of the DDA office at 149 W. Nine Mile Rd.
Bicycle Night and Art on the Town mark the beginning of the summer event season in Downtown Ferndale. Dates to save include (links to Ferndale 115 stories on your favorite events):
May 30 – Memorial Day Parade
June 3, 4 & 5 – Ferndale Pride
June 16 – Third Thursday/Pimp Your Pot
July 15, 16 & 17 – Live Green Fair
July 21 – Third Thursday/Fido Does Ferndale
July 29 – 15th Ferndale Pub Crawl
August 13 – Green Cruise
August 19 & 20 – 16th Ferndale Woodward Dream Cruise Weekend
Sept. 16, 17 & 18 – Ferndale Funky Art Fair & DIY Street Fair
The Ferndale Downtown Development Authority is the economic redevelopment engine for Downtown Ferndale and as such manages and markets approximately 3.9 linear miles of property and businesses that comprise the district. For more information about the Downtown Ferndale, please call the DDA at 248-546-1632 or visit its website at www.downtownferndale.com.