RVA Streets Alive! to Play In The Streets at Byrd Park This Saturday
By Nan Turner
RVA Streets Alive! is taking over Byrd Park this weekend. The open streets event will feature active vendors from around Richmond who will all be offering free interactive demonstrations. However, the highlight of the event will be the course, with streets closed to vehicular traffic and open for all types of activity throughout the park. Molly Johnson, the event director, sat down to give us the scoop on all things Streets Alive!
SB: Explain RVA Streets Alive! for people who have never been to the event.
MJ: Streets Alive is based off of other open streets events around the country. The idea behind it is that for one day we are going to shut down streets that normally would be open to vehicular traffic to allow pedestrians a chance to experience getting to do whatever type of physical activity they want in a place where they normally wouldn’t be able to. They can run, bike, roller blade, skateboard, whatever, in a setting where they don’t have to worry about cars coming through.
SB: Why do you think Byrd Park is going to be a good location?
MJ: I think Byrd Park is a great location because it is such a large park in the city that does, because of its location, have a fair amount of traffic that runs through there on a normal day. I think it will be great to give area residents, the chance to experience the park’s full potential without having to worry about traffic.
SB: What vendors are you excited about seeing there?
MJ: I’m really excited about all of them, but I’m excited to see what Richmond 2015 is going to bring to the table just because the event is coming up soon (editor’s note: they will be located next to the Sports Backers space). I think there’s going to be a lot of fun fitness classes, including Zumba and other dance options. There’s just going to be a lot of fun activities in general.
SB: What goes on behind the scenes in order for Streets Alive to take place?
MJ: The biggest thing is getting the vendor layout set for the course. We had the course planned months ago, just so we can form a plan for our operations crew and make sure the neighbors are well informed. We’ve been to a couple different meetings in Byrd Park to let them know the event is coming. The biggest thing after vendor registration closes is getting the layout set in a way that makes sense for the vendors and the event. It has to be done in a quick turnaround because we have to get signs printed in enough time to get them to the event. Then we have to let everyone know where their space is. The time crunch of getting that done is the most difficult. We’re really centralizing the vendors in one location because the thought is that, yes there’s all these activities going on in one spot and it’s really fun, but that’s not the entire point of the event. The overall theme of the event is that we want to keep the streets open. Other open streets events are not as vendor driven as ours. They’re really just closed streets that people can enjoy and experience in a new way.
SB: If you had an open street, completely closed to traffic what activity could we find you doing?
MJ: I think I’d do yoga in the middle of the street right across from Swan Lake [in Byrd Park]. That could be fun. It’s a serene setting.
SB: Any vendors from the past that you thought were particularly good?
MJ: Sportable! Sportable always sticks out to me because I don’t think you get to experience what Sportable does every day. With all the different wheelchair activities that they’re able to provide for their athletes and for the public, I always think they’re really cool.
SB: What is the overall goal of the event?
MJ: I think the goal of the event is not only to give people an opportunity to be active but also to get them exposed to the wide variety of options that are in their community. I think a lot of times when people think about getting active they think about running or biking. They don’t realize that getting active is really anything that gets you up off the couch. I think getting so many different activities together in one spot is what makes it so unique. You get to see everything from pickle ball, to wheelchair sports, to Zumba, to roller derby. There’s something for everyone, and I love that.