Wish you were there: A recap for Ride & Walk4Art

Our fundraiser for Arts in Education was fun and successful too.

At Ride & Walk4Art 2017 we walked, biked, and ate for arts in education. It was a beautiful, if slightly overcast day, but that didn’t stop the fun. 

The day started with balloons to mark the path for our walking participants. Madison P. helped tie them along the route.

Emily and Eleanor D. helped with the balloons. We looked forward to eating JoMa’s wonderful ice cream at the end of the day. They were our dessert sponsors, providing ice cream for all, for which we all did a little dance and sang thank you!

Cole Przybyla lit the flames to barbecue the chickens. Cole Video in Sonora was one of our sponsors, not just doing the cooking, but creating and managing the event website. Thank you Cole! 

​We also want to thank Mar-Val in Valley Springs for donating all the food for lunch: Chicken, bread, salad, pasta. and pesto, as well as bottled water and other drinks. We couldn’t have done this without them, and we so appreciate their support of the arts in Calaveras County.

Thanks to Rob Williams (second from left), who coordinated Ride & Bike4Art, and the Stockton Bike Club,  one of our sponsors, who helped with roadside assistance along the ride. Here they are, fresh and ready to bike.

Eric Olson of Mountain Pedaler was on hand to offer mechanical help in case of of loose chains and sprockets, or any other bicycle mishaps.

 Allison P. takes a break at stop #6 and enjoys an energy bar from one of our sponsors, Nature’s Bakery. We thank them for providing treats for our athletes.

Those who walked to Turner Park were greeted by fiddlers playing Irish music. These fiddlers met in the middle: Tom F. on left came from Angels Camp, and Rob M. came from Amador City to share some tunes in the gazebo.

Walkers ready to make their laps around Turner Park. 

The Calaveras Amateur Radio Association set up stations in Turner Park and along the cycling route,  giving us constant radio contact about cyclists safety. Paul H. (right) kept order in the park and directed walkers to the loop. 

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Back at the gallery, our show featuring art created around the theme of cycling, running, and walking was a big hit. Many of these pieces sold, helping to support artists as well as raise funds for arts in education in Calaveras County.

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Thanks to Dereen DeSchryver, coordinator and curator of the art portion of Ride & Walk4Art, for putting together a fabulous show. You can still see the artwork at the Council Gallery in San Andreas until April 8.

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Executive Director Kathy Mazzaferro shows off one of the opportunity drawing items, a bike-label wine. 

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Two gift baskets donated by Moke Hill Nuts and Gifts were sought-after prizes. Not pictured was the clever perpetual calendar donated by Angela Harmon for one of the prizes.

CCAC board president and lunch maven Cynthia Przybyla coordinated the cooking and serving of food .

Kathy S. slices bread donated by Mar-Val in Valley Springs. 

Lunch was delicious, and we ate to the songs of Nate Nathan, the Experimentalist.

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Thanks to all our sponsors, and our participants, we raised more than $1500 for our arts in education program.  We want to offer a special thanks to all our volunteers. We couldn’t have done it without you!