The local family-oriented sustainability group CoolMom has been working on this for months, and now it’s about to launch – its Think Outside the Car project. They’re planning an event at Westside School (WSB sponsor) on April 28th that will have a festival flavor, with a kids’ bicycle rodeo, live music, and even food trucks. Read on for the announcement:

When you put Earth Day together with a neighborhood matching grant, you get a whole lot of fun! On Saturday, April 28th from 10 am-2 pm, Westside Elementary School will be the center of the car-free universe in an event designed to get West Seattleites using their bike pedals instead of their gas pedals.

The Cascade Bicycle Club will challenge kids to a bike rodeo in which children will get to show off their mad biking skills while learning bicycle safety tips. Children of all ages will have the chance to use the solar-powered Undriving license station where they can get their very own undriver’s license with a promise to try the bus or walk to school. Children will also decorate their bikes and have the opportunity to participate in two parades. Bike Works will be collecting bikes for donation and providing some ‘how tos’ on bike maintenance. Lumpia World and Athena’s food trucks will be selling their delicious food and Bottlerocket will provide live musical entertainment and serenade our kid parades!

CoolMom will be on hand to showcase their Think Outside the Car project, arriving in West Seattle by bike, walking school bus and mass transit this Spring. Think Outside the Car, funded by a City of Seattle Neighborhood Matching Fund grant, is designed to build community, improve air quality and save West Seattleites money. Festival attendees can learn more about this project from the participating organizations, including CoolMom, Feet First, BikeWorks, the Cascade Bicycle Club, Sustainable West Seattle and Undriving.

The event’s page on the CoolMom website is here.