BY NYARIKA DOMANAIS
ILOILO City – The Iloilo Business Park in Mandurriao district buzzed with excitement as the 10th Iloilo Bike Festival, themed “Cycle for Change: Celebrating 10 Years of Cycling Culture,” was officially launched on Saturday, July 20.
This year’s festival showcases a diverse array of activities aimed at all ages, spanning a weeklong celebration.
Festival organizers aim to draw a massive crowd of 8,000 to 10,000 people, focusing on community engagement, environmental advocacy, and promoting health and wellness.
They are also planning to create a colossal bicycle image involving 5,000 participants to set a new Guinness world record.
Highlights include the “Cycle for Change” initiative, an “Ambitious Bike Race”, a “Kiddie Race”, and the “Gears and Beers Bikers Tambayan”.
Other notable events are the “Bike Food Crawl”, “Pedal Projection”, “Tour De Iloilo”, and “Bisik-litera-Tour”.
The festival also features a “Pedal Party: Bikers Fellowship Night”, “Cyclopedia”, “Manual Bicycle Count”, and a “Car-Free Day”.
More advanced activities include a “Bike Clinic”, “Double Century Ride”, “Hot Wheels Bike Expo”, “Bike Buddies Meet and Greet”, “Shift Happens Mobility Forum”,
“Puni Bisikleta, Porma Siklista”, “Pedal Power Grand Fun Ride”, “Bikes and Music Xperience (BMX), “Push Bike Race”, and the “Mega Criterium Race”.
Attendees can also look forward to the “Human Bike Formation” Guinness World Record attempt and the futuristic “Bike to the Future” event.
Prominent figures present at the festival’s launch included Bike Festival director Architect Wilfredo Sy Jr., Iloilo Festivals Foundation Inc. chairperson Judgee Peña, Sangguniang Kabataan Federation chair Jelma Crystel Implica, and Megaworld’s Festive Walk Iloilo general manager Karmela Alexandra Jesena.
Also in attendance were Executive Assistant Jay Treñas, along with Lea Lara and Leny Ledesma from the city’s Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions (MICE) Center.
“Our united efforts are steering Iloilo City towards a more sustainable future. Let us pedal forward together for a more bicycle-friendly country, and together, move towards gearing Iloilo City to the next level,” said Treñas./PN
