Arts, Poetry, and Pedaling

A Cultural Opening to the Season

Join us as we launch the 2026 Slow Roll season as an official opening event of Strib Unbound—a ride that weaves together art, environmental justice, storytelling, and movement.

Hosted by Felicia Perry, Anthony Taylor, and Seaarra Hetherington, artists. nature and outdoors advocates, cultural workers, and community storytellers, this ride invites us into a deeper relationship with place, identity, and nature.

Along the route, our hosts will share readings from the work of local creators Erin Sharkey, Michael Kleber-Diggs, and our Poet Laureate, Junauda Petrus, Camille Dungy, and J. Drew Lanham, all of whose writing and poetry illuminate the beauty, complexity, and cultural depth of our relationship to land and the outdoors.

Together, we will ride through North Minneapolis, stopping at sites connected to story, memory, and landscape—reclaiming and re-centering the African American relationship to nature.

What to Expect:

• 🚲 A conversational-paced, no-drop ride

• 📖 Live readings and storytelling from Erin Sharkey + Junauda Petrus’ works

• 🌳 Exploration of North Minneapolis parks, river connections, and greenways

• ✊🏾 Reflections on environmental justice and cultural narratives of land

• ☕ Coffee and gathering at the start

• 🥣 Oatmeal bar and community connection at the finish

Date & Time:

Saturday, May 9, 2026
🕘 8:00-8:30 AM – Coffee & Gathering
🕤 8:30 AM – Ride Begins
🕦 ~10:00 AM – Return & Oatmeal Bar

📍 Location:

The Trailhead at Theodore Wirth Park
📍 1221 Theodore Wirth Parkway, Minneapolis, MN

Who Should Ride:

• All are welcome

• Ages 10+ (younger riders welcome if being pulled)

• All experience levels—this is a slow, supported community ride

Ride Details:

• Conversational pace

• No-drop (no one left behind)

• Ride marshals and support included

• Bring your own bike or inquire about access options

The Slow Roll Mission:

Meet someone you’ve never met before and see something in the city you love that you’ve never seen before.