“Party like it’s 2050” — EnviroCentre Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Bicycle Ball

What better way to mark the last day of the Global Climate Strikes than by joining EnviroCentre for their 20th Anniversary Bicycle Ball?

Happening on Friday, September 27th at the Horticulture Building at Lansdowne, EnviroCentre (one of Ottawa's oldest and best known environmental organizations) is blending together music, art, culture and sustainability for an event that puts the spotlight on the organization’s 20-year commitment to serving Ottawa residents. The non-profit provides people, communities and organizations with practical solutions to lighten their environmental impact in lasting ways.

This will be the first year that EnviroCentre hosts a ‘Bicycle Ball’: a fun night of live music, performances, and dancing, but without the environmental price tag. Amidst the rightfully hard-hitting strikes this week, EnviroCentre wants to remind us there are opportunities to be found in living more sustainably — whether that’s keeping things local, or riding a bicycle in a ballgown.

Of course, EnviroCentre has made sure the event is as sustainable as possible: choosing a location that’s easily accessible by active or public transit, working with a caterer that relies on locally-sourced produce, and partnering with local small businesses.

And what’s a party without good music? EnviroCentre will be celebrating Ottawa’s artistic community, stating in a press release that the “shift towards a more sustainable existence is first and foremost a cultural shift”. As such, all acts will be local, including: live street dancers, Moov Ottawa, Side Street Swing, the John Avondale Orchestra swing band, DJ JFUN, slam poet Apollo the Child, as well as storytelling by Monique Manatch and Randy Boswell, and live painting by Eve Blouin and Corinne Blouin.

"EnviroCentre is all about action on the ground in this city,” says Sharon Coward, Executive Director of the EnviroCentre. “For 20 years, EnviroCentre has helped residents in the Ottawa region find solutions to help them bring environmental change to life in their lives, work, and businesses. We are at a point in history, and in the climate action movement, where widespread awareness and action on the ground is absolutely essential, so what better way to celebrate not just the 20 years behind us, but also the sustainable lifestyle that we believe is very much attainable, than by throwing a Bicycle Ball? A chance to reflect on our past and ponder what is possible in our low carbon future, a chance to party like it's 2050!”

All proceeds going towards the Ottawa Sustainability Fund, a fund that supports local environmental projects to advance community environmental action.