Miami is nothing if not a rabbit hole, a place where doe-eyed innocents, much like Alice, gather en masse and then disappear into a surreal void where they meet tweaked-out freaks and crazy characters. So an Alice in Wonderland-themed event seems incredibly appropriate for our far-out fantasyland.
Enter Alice in Wynwoodland. The intriguing concept, a costumed bike ride/theater performance, is the collaborative brainchild of the Front Yard Theater Collective (FYTC) and local bike champion Emerge Miami. So on April 27, bike riders across Miami can don their best Cheshire Cat getups and take to the streets to follow Alice on her trippy trip through the ether.
The premise: What would happen if Alice's final destination were Wynwood instead of Wonderland?
See also:
- Miami-Dade's BIKE305 Initiative Aims to Add Hundreds of Miles of New Bike Paths
- DecoBike is Coming to Miami (Pending Commission Approval)
Cyclists clad in outrageous getups will follow Alice through a series of weird, wacky skits, all part of an overall play by the FYTC "about getting lost and finding one's self."
The ride route is secret, much like Alice's original journey, but will encompass all that is Wynwood. Think "street artists, bike-polo players, pookie heads, cafecito, and other 305-related scenarios," says Stephany Torres of the FYTC.
For those unfamiliar with the FYTC, it's a local performance group that rocks a monthly show at the Garret made up of original skits, improv games, and music. And Emerge Miami is an advocacy group working to link up Miami's progressive orgs and individuals -- and champion the city's bike scene. An appropriate partnership, for sure.
So how did such a crazy concept come about?
"Some of the members in the FYTC have always been active in Miami's bike scene, and they thought it'd be interesting to do a mobile play. Gaby Fernandez, the director, ran the idea of doing a bicycle theater collective, and I thought it was flippin' genius because there's just about every other themed bike ride in Miami, but I'd never heard of a theater ride," Torressays.
"Lewis Carroll's story is a classic, but it also offers parallels to topical matters in Miami's present evolution. Since this is something new to Miami, we wanted to tie in our local culture to the script, so we adapted it as Wynwoodland," Torres adds.
The ride will finish at The Garret with dancing, music, and an outdoor screening of the Disney version of Alice's adventure -- you know, when Alice was all innocent and shit.
The ride kicks off Saturday, April 27, at 6 p.m. at the Adrienne Arsht Center Metromover station, 1455 Biscayne Blvd. It's totally free to join. Just bring your bike and your Mad Hatter makeup -- or whichever Wonderland wackadoo floats your boat.
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