So here’s an idea for any ladies who will be arriving by bicycle.  What if we all try to replicate these gorgeous vintage bicycle posters?

Hands off ladies...red chiffon dress here we come.

Does anyone dare?

This is an open ‘casting’ call for all our Charleston Cycle Chic-sters to be in an upcoming Cycle Chic fashion show as part of a big fun party called The Bike Brew Haha. We are seeking 20 participants – men and women, young and old with great bikes and a lively spirit. Here are the details:

What:  The Bike Brew Haha – a party to celebrate the progress we’ve made toward a more bike-friendly Charleston. There will be music, beer, our local food trucks, bike polo, a bicycle fashion show, a spectacular view and more…

Where:  The Maritime Center in Downtown Charleston

When:  September 8, 2011 6PM-9:30PM

How:  To apply to be a part of the fashion show, take a photo of you, your bike and the outfit you would wear and submit it to chscyclechic@gmail.com before August 27. Ladies – we encourage you to look lovely, and men – how about being dapper? But most of all be yourselves. This fashion show is all about the bike so make your ride look great and feel free to accessorize. We prefer bikes from local bicycle shops since we try to support our local businesses.

Your time commitment is minimal since all you have to do is respond to a few emails, then show up (on your bikes) to the party at 5PM for a dress rehearsal and stay on to have fun! In return, you’ll get one drink ticket, a free Charleston Moves t-shirt and some great photos of you.

Send the following to chscyclechic@gmail.com

1. Your Full Name
2. Contact Email and Phone
3. Bicycle type and where purchased. For example, a Biria Bike from Affordabike.
4. A color photo of you on your bike.

Check out these gorgeous town bikes and the contest here.

“As Mapes points out, when more women begin riding, that will signal a big change in attitude, which will prompt further changes in the direction of safety and elegance. I can ride till my legs are sore and it won’t make riding any cooler, but when attractive women are seen sitting upright going about their city business on bikes day and night, the crowds will surely follow…. “

Well what do you know, our secret admirer is coming to town!!  So come on and meet him.  Ride your lovely lady bikes to Southend Brewery and show him support, learn something, and get inspired.

EVENT DETAILS

CAC.C/CCDC LECTURE SERIES
sponsored by MyBikeLaw.com + CharlestonMoves
REVOLUTION ON2WHEELS
Across America, a cycling revolution is underway.  Bicycles are changing the way people get around, and therefore how they see and understand the city—not to mention how we plan it.  Bikes aren’t just for fun; more and more, they’re a primary means of transportation! This Spring will examine this amazing phenomenon and consider its consequences for the metro-Charleston area.


JEFF MAPES
Pedaling Revolution:
How Cyclists are Changing American Cities
Thursday FEBRUARY 4
7:00-9:00 PM
South End Brewery, 161 East Bay Street
lecture sponsor: Blue Bicycle Books

Jeff Mapes is a senior political reporter for The Oregonian and the author of Pedaling Revolution: How Cyclists are Changing American Cities.

He is riding a wave of excellent reviews about his book to which the influential Library Journal (which many schools and libraries base their purchasing decisions on) gave their coveted rating of “highly recommended.”  Mapes has put together a broad survey of the burgeoning urban bike movement. He covers everything, from the role of the bicycle in American society in the nineteenth century to the current revolution in cycling.

In preparing for his book, Mapes traveled the country (and the globe) to ride the streets he writes about and to talk directly with the people who are playing  pivotal roles in America’s bike movement. Mapes moves from the warfare between the NYPD and the bike-activist group Critical Mass, to the utopian bikeways of Davis, California and the biking capital of the world, Amsterdam.

His extensive research, solid reporting, and anecdotally-infused style offer a story that, so far, has been largely unknown to all but bicycle advocates.
You can’t have a revolution (pedaling or not) without information, and this lecture just might become one of the sparks that fuels biking’s upcoming boom in Charleston, just like his book is doing across America.

Come meet the man behind the book and get a glimpse of the bike revolution that is sweeping the country.

Tickets $10/$15/$20
MORE INFO: http://www.kultureklashartsfestival.com
November 6th – free artist reception 8pm-11pm

The fifth installment of the much anticipated Kulture Klash Arts Festival is just around the corner. Here’s what you can expect:

50+ artists on display: Massive amounts of art including canvas, wood, metal, sculpture, fabric, photos, acrylic, bike parts, recycled cardboard, lights, video installations, sand, stuffed animals, glue, nails, found objects, graffiti, collage, print making and so much more then we could ever put down on paper.

Live painting collaboration: A 4 x 30+ foot wall painted live by roughly 15 artists during the 6 hour course of Kulture Klash. Come watch how the artists collaborate, collude and interact, stepping on each others toes and conversely bolstering this massive work. Individual slices of the painting will be fore sale.

‘Starving Artists” show: The show is exactly as it’s named. We have 8 Artists, who will be starving themselves (only water/herbal teas) in the event space for 5 days, in order to see how starvation really effects their craft. During the course of the 5 days, each artist is require to create one painting per day. Each artist’s paintings must be the same size, medium, subject matter, and degree of difficulty as the day before. This way the spectator can see the difference. Will the artwork suffer? Or does the elimination of food, alcohol, sugar, refine their talents?

Improv spoken word side stage: This will be a side room complete with couches and a small stage were we are encouraging audience participation, poems on the fly and poetry “battles” for those who are up to the challenge. Hosted by local word master and poem celebrity Marcus Amaker. The Starving Artist exhibit will be on display in the background.

Chain Ring Circus: Celebrate the art of cycling with bike polo matches, bike dancing, slow bike races, bike art, bike movies and general bike enthusiasm. We encourage cyclist to pedal to the event and enjoy the free bike valet hosted by Holy City Bike Co-op.

Photo repository depot by Sully Sullivan: Weird props, backdrops and cut outs. Make some memories… you can even get your grubby hands on the photos you posed for. Sully has a fancy printer. Booyah.

“Hand of Character” booth hosted by Pure Theatre: Rodney Lee Rogers directs a interactive character play incorporating the audience as key players. Channel your inner thespian and make your move.

The midnight room: Just have to wait and see…

Modern dance – The Power Company will be performing two separate dance pieces choreographed by Marcy Jo Yonkey-Clayton. They will be dabbling with the curiosity of watching and being watched plus a second performance about pushing the boundaries of property lines and personal space.

Live music: Dante’s Camaro – “Rising up from the ashes comes the fastest, dirtiest, most maniacal menagerie or mangled metal the world has yet known!! Riding down the highway to HELL and destroying every bottle of booze in its path, the band that no one wanted to cross will not disappoint.”

Short Shorts – “Sounds like robots… doin’ it. We met in chemistry lab. We brought out lab coats. We made a concoction. We built a monster. We are Short Shorts.”

The V-Tones – “Sometimes known as a quaint duo, other times a sizzling sextet. We craft our shows to fit the moment so no performance is ever the same. Also known as Charleston’s only ukulele hot club jub band vaudeville ragtime neo-retro-postpostmodern quasi-primetime anachronistic revolutionary anti-inflammatory mass catharsis jazz freakout and philharmonic group therapy session.”

Plus many more booty shakin’ sets by DJ Stella, The Bubble Gut Brothers, Righchus, DJ Jeff ET, Danny Seltzer and DJ Belk.

Drink: Enjoy a cold, delicious beer from New Belgium Brewery or a smooth glass of hand selected wine by Social Wine Bar. There will be ample non-alcoholic bevs.

Eat: Snack on killer hand-tossed pizza baked on site by the boys from D’allesandro’s or get your spice on with some Asian/African infusion from the Street Food cart.

Shuttle – $5 shuttles from downtown, James Island and West Ashley. Check our website for more info.

We promise: quicker lines, more well lit potties, sweeter security, cold water, plenty of places to sit, more drink ticket stations, an ATM on site, and really fantastic beer and wine. As always, lots of last minute additions to keep you on your toes.

Thanks to our sponsors: New Belgium Brewery, The Navy Yard at Noisette, Fisher Recycling, TheDigitel.com, Big Hair Productions, City Paper, Social Wine Bar, D’allesandro’s, Street Foods, Celadon Home, Ice Box, Lucky 7′s Tattoo, Holy City Bike Co-op and Charleston Moves.

CO-PRODUCERS:
Gustavo Serrano
Ambergre Sloan
Scott Debus
MEDIA CONTACT:
Ambergre Sloan 843.478.1615 amber@kultureklashartsfestival.com

HI RES photos are available at http://www.badjon.com/?s=kulture+klash

Start: Marion Square @5:45PM

Meetup: Chai’s @ around 6:30PM

Pecha Kucha: 7:15 @ The Music Farm (we’ll be locking our bikes here before we go to Chai’s)

So what is Pecha Kucha Night Charleston you ask?  Pecha Kucha, Japanese for the sound of conversation, is a mix of show-and-tell, open-mike night and happy hour that has become a forum for ideas on design, architecture and other forms of creativity. This is the 4th one we’ve had in Charleston and they keep getting better and better.

For more about Pecha Kucha you can visit the global website or hop on over to the Pecha Kucha Night Charleston site.

Here are the ride details….

When: 5:45PM

Where: Meet at Marion Square, the corner of King and Calhoun.

How: With flair

With What: BIKES!

Ride Map: Ya’ll won’t know our route until just a few days before because Pecha Kucha Charleston keeps their location in secrecy.  (I know of course, but no amount of arm-twisting will get it out of me!)

Meetup: We’ll be having a little post-ride, pre-Pecha Kucha Night meetup to line our bellies at around 6:30PM. Location is forthcoming!

So stay tuned for details about the next ride.  All I can tell you now is that it will be after work on October 21st!  So get your beautiful bikes polished up and ready to ride.

But.  We need a theme.  Something with elegance, class, fun, and movement….

Submit your ideas here and I’ll post them for the world to see.

2008 Parade on King

P.S.  Yes, Cycle Chic has taken a Hot Weather Hiatus in this steamy month of August – but get your bikes shined up for the next ride at the end of September!

What you say?  You already have a bike?

Well – you know how I feel about that.  Bikes are the new handbags.  It’s fun to have one for every mode and moda.  The other option if you win, would be to donate your bike to someone in need of Cycle Chic transport.  Wouldn’t you like to be responsible for introducing another person to the lovely biking lifestyle?

All you have to do is create a Chictopia profile and then upload your photo with your bike to the profile page and enter the contest before July 17.  Each week five winners will be selected – 4 will be selected by Chictopia users and 1 will be selected by TopShop.  Don’t forget to vote for your favorite!

Official Contest Rules