Bike and Circuses is a family-friendly, eco-friendly outdoor event that will take place in Winnipeg in June 2022. Guests will travel through Winnipeg parkland, stopping along the way to take in short performances. Through a combination of circus arts, music, theatre and dance we will celebrate our connection to nature and the importance of physical activity while addressing climate change and other environmental issues. Bike and Circuses will carry a clear message while being a colourful and fun spectacle.

THE EVENT

This unique event will run for 5 days in June in Whittier Park in St. Boniface. Audience members are welcome to bring their own bikes or borrow one from our fleet. The last three time slots of each performance will be set aside for people who prefer to walk the route, or who roll in a wheelchair, or who are pushing strollers. As groups meander along the lush path, taking in the Riparian forest along the riverbank, they will come upon large billboards with colourful sentences or phrases, each accompanied by a performance.

The messages will be about Environment, Health and Wellness - quotes from well-known environmentalists, some from lesser-known change-makers and some from plain old regular Manitobans, all giving us inspiration and tools to be better to the environments we interact with. The ‘environments’ we reference will be global (climate change), local (air and water pollution) and individual (personal health and wellness). 

Imagine a tightrope performance in the trees, a haunting soundscape coming from the forest, a short puppet play about active transportation in a notch of the path, a contortionist on a log, a young performer singing on a swing in the woods, a stilt walker telling riddles about healthy eating and a comedic clown scene about plastic bags along the river.

This project will get families outside together, engaging in the community, public park spaces, physical activity, and environmental education. It will cultivate belonging to the land we live on and the need to take care of it and cherish it. It will empower families to work together for positive changes in their home and beyond.

GOALS

1. To offer an outdoor theatrical experience for Winnipeggers of all ages.
2. To offer this experience in a format that keeps audiences aware of personal and environmental health benefits through the ways they move through the event (ie: active transportation).
3. To offer this event as spectacle and fun but to place equal value on environmental and personal health and wellness concepts, teaching and/or reminding patrons about their impact on our environment and their abilities to make choices to be better to our planet. Themes addressed will include climate change, active transportation, road and bicycle safety, eco-friendly food choices, healthy food choices, our waterways, habitat and wildlife conservation, and daily/weekly habits - from leisure activities to purchases for home and school.
4. To offer this experience in a way that allows for physical distancing between patrons as well as performers.
5. To offer this event with a sliding ticket price and the option of having a bicycle provided free of charge, allowing all Winnipeggers the opportunity to participate, no matter their income level.
6. To ensure this production is carbon neutral.  We will be working with Carbon Credit Capital to offset any pollution created by activities and items used during the course of creation and execution of the project.  

PROJECTED OUTCOMES 

1. 3,500+ Winnipeggers become better aware of opportunities for physical activity and active transportation within the city.
2. An increased use of Winnipeg's City Parks and Open Spaces.
3. An increased use of Active Transportation for leisure, shopping trips, work and school.
4. An increase in households making better choices for the environment and their personal health and wellness through daily/weekly purchases and activities.
5. An increase in artists looking to make their practices more eco friendly, from materials to venue to how their office and day-to-day is managed. 
6. An increase in artists choosing to create work about our environment or from an environmental perspective.

OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE ENVIRONMENT                                                                           

In any Green Kids production, all environmental aspects are considered. For our Bike and Circuses project, we will be using repurposed materials for our sets, billboard signage and costumes to ensure we keep our carbon footprint as small as possible.

PERFORMERS AND OTHER STAFF

We will be hiring 60+ individuals for the production (performers, production managers, builders, designers, bike mechanics, ushers, etc.). Green Kids is committed to hiring persons from diverse cultural backgrounds, and will be approaching various Indigenous, Black and other People of Colour (IBPOC) artists/groups when engaging performers. The same principle applies to staff hired to manage the event.

As we see this event as an opportunity for emerging artists to gain experience and exposure, we will be hiring a mix of seasoned professionals, emerging artists and community groups. All will receive professional fees for their time, and we will provide mentorship for some of the greenest members of the team. 

AUDIENCE

Our target demographic is children, youth, and families of Winnipeg and surrounding communities. We want to reach families looking for a fun event, individuals that want environmentally friendly outdoor experiences and the younger generation of thinkers. The event will take place in St. Boniface, close to Downtown, easily accessible by public transit and bike and boasts plenty of free parking. We will serve all demographics and offer a bicycle to any patron who needs one. 

We are committed to offering children, youth and families unconditional access to this event. Though we will be selling tickets to help offset the costs, it is our goal to offer a pay-what-you-like option for all guests, ensuring that affordability is not an issue. We will also offer volunteer opportunities for youth as a means to experience the event free of charge and also learn about how these events are managed while accruing volunteer hours. 

CONFIRMED FUNDERS

We are honoured to have financial support confirmed from the following:

Canada Council for the Arts, Manitoba Arts Council, Winnipeg Arts Council, Winnipeg Foundation, Prairie Dawn Foundation, Upside Down Tree, PayPal                 

CONFIRMED PARTNERS

We are proud to have in-kind support confirmed from the following:

Sherpa Marketing, Bike Week Winnipeg, Green Action Centre, Winnipeg Trails Association                                                                

JOIN US

We are looking for additional financial and in-kind support and offer a variety of ways to participate and be recognized.

• We invite supporting companies and organisations to set-up tents, tables or other displays to create a festival-like atmosphere near the box office. Patrons will have an opportunity to browse and interact while waiting for their turn to roll through the event.
• We invite supporting companies and organisations to provide a short statement for the event website and our promotional materials.
• Supporting companies and organisations’ logos will appear on all Bike and Circuses printed materials, from posters to handbills to on-site signage.
• Supporting companies and organisations’ logos and a link to their websites will appear on the Green Kids website and the Bike and Circuses event page.
• Supporting companies and organisations will be showcased through our social media accounts.
• Volunteers!
• Companies and organisations that support this project with $10,000 or more can choose between two additional options for recognition:

1. Logo on each of the bikes we offer patrons.

OR

1. "Support A Stop".

The supporting organization or company’s logo would be the only logo at the stop, where audiences will pause for approximately 3 minutes to take in the performance. The supporting organization or company will be welcome to help us create this stop, by choosing the quote and the style and context of the performance.

• All donations will receive a charitable tax receipt.

This budget for this event is $95,000 and we already have our first $55,000.  

Just $40,000 more to go to help make this exciting and meaningful event as great as it can be!

Full Program Proposal available here:

https://www.greenkids.com/_files/ugd/85f9a8_9ac1bf6b82014ca1b765e73886da7e31.pdf