Lakewood residents are nothing if not experts on summertime. The moment the first ray of sunshine slices through the clouds after a long winter, Lakewood-ites take to the sidewalks in shorts and flip-flops. This summer, Lakewood residents will be encouraged to hit the pavement hassle-free when two miles of Lakewood streets are blocked off for Walk & Roll Lakewood.

Walk & Roll Lakewood will take place on Saturday, July 19, 2008 from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Lakewood. To take advantage of the walkability of this great city, Detroit Avenue will be blocked off from the Lakewood Hospital to the main branch of Lakewood Library, and Belle will be closed all the way down to Lakewood Park, allowing pedestrians, bicyclers and rollerbladers to “walk and roll” to the many free, health and exercise oriented activities that will be offered. It will be a vibrant celebration that will raise awareness of our parks and green spaces, the culture and history of our community, and encourage healthy, active lifestyles.

This is a perfect opportunity for Lakewood profit and non-profit businesses to get involved in some fun and inexpensive self promotion. Lakewood businesses are invited to host one or more activities which will promote healthy and active lifestyles. In planning their activities, organizations are encouraged to get creative; programming will range from tumbling, dancing, aerobics, and yoga to a bike rodeo, skateboard demonstrations, and more. This will be a great time for Lakewood profit and non-profit organizations to introduce themselves to the community or to simply gain more exposure to the residents that support them.

Walk & Roll Lakewood puts Lakewood in the company of communities world-wide who have had great success with this type of progressive event. To gain an idea of the vision for Walk & Roll Lakewood, readers will find it worthwhile to check out a video clip from a similar event in Bogota Columbia at http://www.streetfilms.org/archives/ciclovia/.

Several profit and nonprofit businesses are already on board for this great event, so organizations who are interested should sign up as soon as possible; July 19th is right around the corner! All profit and nonprofit participants will be charged a nominal fee of $20, which will go toward the promotion of the organizations involved in Walk & Roll Lakewood as well as promotion of the event itself. To sign up to host a program or to find out more about getting involved, businesses can contact Shannon Strachan at 216-226-8418 or at sstrachan@sbcglobal.net.

By: Kristen Verciglio, Main Street Walk & Roll Committee