Houston will be enriched with the second CounterCrawl culture and art bike crawl this Saturday.
UH students, local artists, musicians and creative culture pioneers have put together a biking route that takes people through non-profit urban farms, art car graveyards in a defunct grain silo and a secret bike-only stop that promises intrigue and satisfaction.
The Facebook page for Countercrawl will bring up a black and white ad with a bicycle and the name of the event.
Beyond that, the houstoncountercrawl.tumblr.com link brings the visitor to a site with plenty of videos and music to give an idea of the absolute dedication that these cultural creatives are giving of themselves in order to bring an amazing experience to our community.
There are videos for each stop on the bike route, with videography, photography and music compiled from submissions by artists whose work will be experienced this weekend.
The stated mission of Countercrawl is, in part, to create an event in which art is something we can interact with and therefore understand by experiencing, rather than the typical time spent at art functions where we find ourselves standing in front of another famous painting we’ve seen in thousands of advertisements.
The Countercrawl creators and participants are inviting the Houston community to interact in ways that, as the tumblr website states, will allow “local artists with limited means” to “organically grow into a community of self-sustaining artists” through exposure in this “revolutionary, evolutionary event.”
Dialogue is welcome and monetary exchanges are, to the great emphasis of those involved, not the focus of the event.
This will prove to be a great community event for cyclists and creative types alike.
There will be vegan food and drinks available for consumption, but the party atmosphere that goes along with beer is not a focus, either.
If you do not have a bicycle but want to participate, local legend Dr. Veon McReynolds, who runs the Compound at 2305 Wheeler, has generously offered to loan some of his bikes.
They will be located at the first stop, The Last Organic Outpost Emile Street Community urban farm, open at 2 p.m. and available for use during the whole event, which ends at 2 a.m. at The Silo next door.
Dr. McReynolds hosts the weekly Tour de Hood bike ride, which addresses physical and mental health through community awareness and bicycling tours of Houston to view architecture and our city’s history.
More information on his work can be found at TourDeHood.org/about.
For further information about the CounterCrawl, check out their Facebook event page or visit countercrawlhouston.tumblr.com. The first stop will be at The Emile Street Community Farm, located at 711 N. Emile, Houston, TX 77020.
