A + E District Bike Beer & BBQ
Arts + Entertainment District (A + E District) and Miami's Independent Thinkers hosted "Bikes Beer & BBQ" event at the Canvas Miami Lot on April 12, 2015. This event was a scenic bike ride that provided a personal guided tour of the A + E District in Miami, Florida. The bike tour was created to bring awareness of the upcoming growth and development plans in the area. Also, this event provided the opportunity for people from different areas of South Florida to interact and connect through common interests and hobbies. Guests viewed the scenic and enriched areas in Wynwood with a brisk bike ride.
Guests brought their bicycles on a car hitch or rode them to the Canvas lot. The event accommodated guests that did not own a bicycle by providing them with Citi Bikes rentals. The comfortable bicycles were provided by Devon from Citi Bikes Miami. The bicycles had an accessory basket which was ideal for guests carrying backpacks, cameras, and snack items.
Kerry guided the bike tour to compelling sights offered by Miami's Arts + Entertainment District. She guided the bicyclists to the "Krave" mural by artist, Daniel Fila. The mural is a gigantic portrait of a nude brunette woman sunbathing on her stomach with her arms crossed. The female portrait was lifelike and blended into the city landscape and cloudy skyline of Miami's A + E District. The artists' studio is located nearby in Little Havana.
After visiting this fantastic mural, the guests biked to the back of WLRN studios. WLRN provides public programming in South Florida. The area surrounding the WLRN studios will change in the future. The Filling Station Lofts, soon-to-be Canvas Miami, and A + E District are attempting to obtain an influx of local traffic and pedestrians. In the near future, this area will become prominent in artistic, cultural, and economical aspects.
A few blocks from the WLRN studios, the bicyclists rode to the Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) building. This agency provides assistance for the neighborhood and promotes artistic events. The Performing Arts Center is located adjacent to the CRA building.
Across the street from the CRA building, the "Herakut" Mural towers over Downtown Miami. The mural is a breathtaking portrait of an eclectic German duo. This area is part of the growing movie entertainment industry in Miami. It was mentioned that the City of Miami invested fifteen million dollars into building the Movie & Entertainment Complex (MEC) for post production of TV, films, and commercials. The producers are aiming for this industry to flourish in Miami. The goal is to attract tourism to South Florida in order to gain capital for construction. Ice Palace Studios, located adjacent to the MEC building, is another company that produces films in the neighborhood.
The bicyclists traveled through the neighborhood to the next location, Jessy Nite's mural. At this enthralling building, the bicyclists were introduced to a local artist, Jessy Nite. She painted a gleaming multicolored mural on her modern studio building. Instead of using stencil, she utilized tape and paint to create this spectacular 3-D Technicolor design. The project completion took two full weeks working throughout the day and night.
The next location of the bike tour was a mural painted by artist, Don Rimx. The mural is painted with colorful wooden Hawaiian totems. The mural is displayed on the left side of Toe Jam Backlot's building. This studio is an event production business in Miami. Toe Jam Studios has a different mural located on the right hand side of the building. The riveting mural is a collection of notorious gangsters and famous actors from popular films. The mural features iconic characters from classic films such as "Clockwork Orange," "The Shining," "The Godfather," "Gangs in New York," "Terminator," and "Pulp Fiction."
The bicyclists traveled several blocks to the next location which featured an astonishing retro design. The mural was created by collaborative artists, 2Alas, Andrew and Filio (@andrewantonaccio & @filiogalvez). The mural featured an enchanting woman's face painted with a crosshatching technique in dark gray, bright orange, and deep red pigments. The featured artist, Andrew, was chauffeured to the location on a musical Hyde minibus. He mentioned that his work on this mural took place last year before Art Basel. The subject of this mural is Hollywood actress, Natalie Wood in Wynwood. He utilized concrete material for the underlying dark tone of the wall.
Down the block, guests biked to the "Steep Mural" which featured Amazonian themed art work. This charming mural is radiant and mythical. The mural was created by an Ecuadorian artist, Steep. The artist utilized bright beguiling color schemes inspired by the Amazon. The mural evokes the theme of human interaction in connection with the liveliness of nature. Kerry, the host, mentioned this mural is one of her top three favorite murals in Wynwood.
The last mural visited on the bike tour was Pixel Pancho's Mural. The "Dog" mural is displayed on the wall of a Dog Daycare building. The mural displayed skeletal shapes of robotic Greyhound dogs racing in a pack. The bicyclists returned to the Canvas lot and quenched their thirst with complimentary complimentary Vita Coco, Peroni beer, Jager, and Kryo pops. The guests satisfied their hunger after the bike ride with a BBQ styled luncheon. Guests cooled off with a refreshing icy cloud-like Kryo mist provided by Kryogenifix. Also, guests relaxed after their bike ride at the picnic tables and lounge chairs at the Canvas lot.
Events hosted by Arts + Entertainment District (A + E District) and Miami's Independent Thinkers promote awareness of the improvements occurring in the area. Miami's Independent Thinkers coordinated this grand and well organized bike tour along with partners: Citi Bike Miami, Miami Bike Scene, Miami Bike Polo, and Magic City Bicycle Collective. Miami's Independent Thinkers has collaborated with A + E District for the past few months producing various community happenings. Miami's Independent Thinkers provides innovative events throughout unique locations of Miami with a focus on Art Basel. Their upcoming A + E Performance Pavilion will provide complimentary performances for the community. Visit the event coordinators @miamithinkers & @aedistrictmiami for further event information.