The presentation, from Dialed Action Sports (see video), is part of the Ansonia Economic Development Commission’s efforts to expand on the event in order to attract more people to downtown Ansonia each spring.
“We are the home of the bicycle. We have claimed that title,” said commission member Bill Luneski at the commission’s meeting last month.
The bike festival is held in honor of Pierre Lallement, a Frenchman who patented the first pedaled bicycle in 1886, while living in Ansonia. Click here to read a story about the festival’s launch in 2011.
This year’s event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 4 on Main Street in Ansonia. See the group’s Facebook page for pictures from last year’s event.
The festivities include
- a commemorative ride from New Haven to Ansonia, to trace the steps of Lallement
- bike safety demonstrations
- fitting and distribution of free bicycle helmets for children and adults
- skateboard stunt demonstration
The bicycle stunt team will add two stunt shows to the lineup.
Economic Development Commission member Vinnie Scarlata said the event continues to grow each year.
“The first year, we had crickets on Main Street,” he said.
By the second year, New Haven bike shop The Devil’s Gear had gotten involved, bringing penny-farthing bicycles — the ones with the big front wheels — to show off to the crowd.
The event even attracted a guest with a velocipede propped on the bed of his pickup truck, Scarlata said.
Double The Cost
But while the Economic Development Commission wanted to grow the event this year, the cost of the stunt show — $1,900 — almost doubled the total festival costs.
At the commission’s monthly meeting April 24, members debated hiring the team with only 10 days until the event.
Terri Goldson, who is also the principal at Mead Elementary School, said sometimes you’ve got to spend money to make something special for the town. ​“If we had the money in our budget, I’d bring this to my school,” he said.
Others suggested waiting until next year, when there would be more time to advertise the new event.
“This event was almost cancelled,” said Luneski, who proposed hiring Dialed Action Sports. ​“If we don’t do something with a little pizzazz this year, it might get cancelled next year.”
While the commission members debated, member Horace Behrle quietly left the Aldermanic Chambers and called the president of the Ansonia Rod & Gun Club, where Behrle is a member.
He returned to the room before the debate ended with an annoucement: The club would donate the $1,900.
“We try to help out,” Behrle said. ​“If you get the community to come together, to come out, it’s a good cause.”