Chances are you’ve heard of Open Studios, the huge art event that rolls around every October when hundreds of Santa Cruz county artists open up their workplaces for others to admire. But you might have not yet heard of Open Streets, which doesn’t have anything to do with art — but, like Open Studios, it’s an October event that strives to build community in Santa Cruz.
Open Streets is based on a simple principle: kids should be able to play in the streets. Cyclists and skaters and pogo-stick enthusiasts should feel safe riding and gliding and hopping around residential neighborhoods. And families should have a public space to enjoy the great outdoors Santa Cruz has to offer — for bonding, for fun, and also for health.
So last October, Open Streets arranged for West Cliff Drive to be closed to all automobile traffic from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and declared the street open to anyone with a desire to get out and play.
And apparently, a lot of people like to play in the streets. A whopping 9,000 people — that’s about one fifth of the city of Santa Cruz’s population — showed up with bikes, scooters, or simply their own two feet to enjoy and celebrate the rare opportunity to play in the middle of what is usually a heavily trafficked street.
That same opportunity will come around again this coming Sunday, October 13, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on West Cliff, from Lighthouse Field to Natural Bridges. In addition to the novelty of being allowed to run in the street, families can enjoy food trucks and live musical performances from Cuban Salsa music to Japanese drumming, providing inspiration to get the heart moving and the blood pumping. Local businesses are invited to host tables at the event, bringing a benefit to the local economy as well.
If you need to kick your feet up for a moment amid all the activity, the Santa Cruz MAH will have a pop-up museum of an outdoor living room. Natural Bridges will be hosting a Welcome Back Monarchs Day, to help you greet butterflies back into your life. There will also be apple cider pressing, face painting, free snacks from local businesses like New Leaf, presentations from organizations like the Homeless Garden Project and People Power, and a whole lot more going on.
In short, this event looks like it should be a blast (writing about it right now is making me want to go), but for all the flashy and cool interactive parts of the event, it’s important to keep in mind that at the heart of Open Streets are two simple goals: to create a healthier community, and encourage the existence of welcoming outdoor public spaces.
Obviously, those two things are inherently related. A quote from Enrique Peñalosa, former mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, which is featured on Open Streets’ website, puts it perfectly:
A quality city is not one that has great roads but one where a child can safely go anywhere on a bicycle.
Santa Cruz Open Streets
West Cliff Drive
Sunday, October 13, 2013
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
