This past Sunday was a special day in my community. It was the 8th annual Slow Food Cycle Sunday, where bike riders of all ages and abilities take a leisurely ride along Pemberton Meadows Road to visit the local farms and farmers of Pemberton, BC. It’s simply one of the happiest, friendliest, most joyful events you can participate in — and better yet, it’s free.

People come from all over to participate in the Slow Food Cycle. Participation well exceeds the population of our teeny, tiny town. Visitors from greater Vancouver, the Sea to Sky Corridor and well beyond, descend on Pemberton to get a peek behind the workings of our local farms, to sample and purchase fresh produce, baked goods, artisan crafts and the locally-distilled gourmet vodka (We’re a potato-growing people — pretty smart, hey?).

The road is filled with bicyclists leisurely (it’s a SLOW food CYCLE) riding from one farm to the next, enjoying the incredible scenic valley, talking about what they’ve seen, tasted or bought to enjoy at home later. The conversations are buzzing along the road and at the farms. And everyone is friendly. Strangers offer one another sunscreen, water or whatever else may be needed  —  Band-aids, bug spray, dental floss (corn was popular this year). Old friends squeal with recognition and delight at running into one another. Strangers strike up conversations about how great the day is and how many friends they’re bringing back with them next year.

But at the heart of the Slow Food Cycle is community engagement and an engaged community. The event is produced each year by a volunteer committee, the farmers volunteer to be “storefronts” for the day as most of them are not usually gate-sales farms, dozens of volunteers make the day function smoothly and then thousands of people show up to enjoy it all. And everyone is friendly, happy and connected.

There is a happiness and joy attached to that spirit of connectedness that makes the day so special. People feel a part of something bigger than themselves, they feel closer to their community, to the land and to the food that eventually reaches their table. They feel welcomed.

Events are a powerful tool to build community engagement. And when done right, they do more than just engage the community that participates — they connect the participants to each other. I’ve met folks who have done the Slow Food Cycle in previous years and love to share stories of their experience. They feel connected to it and to all other participants, even on the years that they can’t attend.

So, a big thanks to all those folks who make the Slow Food Cycle possible. And yes, I said HELLO! to many, many people along the way and I’m pretty sure that I passed a few enthusiastic Hello Pledgers as well. It was a great day to practice the Pledge!

Does your community have a grassroots event that fosters connectedness, friendliness and fun? Tell us about it — let’s share the love.

~ Maureen Douglas

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