Press Release
THE QUILTERS OF GEE’S BEND, EXPANDED ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN, HEALTH AND FITNESS EXPO HEADLINE ADDITIONS TO THE 2008 NOBLE STREET FESTIVAL
March 25, 2008
ANNISTON, AL - The nationally acclaimed Quilters of Gee’s Bend will headline a new approach to celebrating art at the 2008 Noble Street Festival in Anniston on Saturday, May 3rd. Activities for children will be greatly expanded to include such attractions as an elaborate NASCAR Expo presented by the Talladega Superspeedway. Also new is a Health & Fitness Expo, offering helpful information and activities promoting an active, healthy lifestyle.
The Noble Street Festival attracts more than 5000 to downtown Anniston and features pro and amateur bike races in the Sunny King Criterium, favorite local restaurants serving from tents in the Red Diamond Restaurant Tour, numerous healthy activities for children in the McWane KidZone, the Mellow Mushroom Mad Dash running race, and numerous events that celebrate art in the Pedaling Art Tour. The festival was recognized by the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel as a Top 10 Event in the state in 2006.
The Pedaling Art Tour will include several additions celebrating art, including The Quilters of Gee’s Bend. “The Quilts of Gee’s Bend” exhibition has been presented at more than a dozen major museums, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. Art critics worldwide have compared the quilts to the works of important modern artists, such as Henri Matisse, and the New York Times called the quilts “some of the most miraculous works of modern art America has produced.” Bike pARTs, an exhibit of sculpture made from recycled bicycle parts and sponsored by Veolia Environmental Services is another addition to the festival. Other new art events include the Regions Bank Pedaling Art Parade where participants will pedal creative works of art along the bike race course for a chance at cash prizes. The Global Village Craft Market will feature African, South American, and Alabama works.
The Spirit of Anniston, which is coordinating most art activities, will host Anniston Alive: Dance Night Downtown, on Friday evening, May 2nd. This Friday night event will feature everything from square dance to fox trots, artists and their wares on Noble Street sidewalks (organized by Art Works Gallery).
The much-expanded McWane KidZone will feature the ever-popular just-for-fun bike races for kids, hands-on art, climbing walls, and many new additions including the NASCAR Expo, scavenger hunts, the Anniston Army Depot Expo featuring an army tank, and much more. Kids will want to visit the WigWam, a tent hosted by Noble Street’s Wig’s Wheels Bicycle Shop where, in addition to give-a-ways, pro bike racers will be on hand to sign autographs.
Returning for 2008 is the Red Diamond Restaurant Tour. This celebration of local cuisine will feature 15 restaurants lining Noble Street serving from attractive tents. Festival goers will have a diverse choice of menu items for lunch and dinner and will enjoy dining on Noble Street, which will be lined with tables and open only to pedestrians and bicycles for the day.
Also returning for 2008 is the nationally known Sunny King Criterium pro and amateur bike races, which will have a record turnout of pro teams in 2008. Think NASCAR, as hundreds of pro and amateur cyclists zoom around the .7-mile race course, consisting of several city blocks of downtown Anniston. Reaching speeds of almost 40 mph, these teams use strategy and tactics, competing for cash prizes. The Sunny King Criterium races, selected as one of the top events in the country by cycling’s governing body, USA Cycling, attract pro teams from across the U.S., as well as from several foreign countries. Amateur racers travel from across the Southeast to race in the Sunny King Criterium.
The Mellow Mushroom Mad Dash running race is coordinated by the Anniston Runners Club. This one lap sprint around the .7-mile bike race course awards cash prizes to top finishers. New for 2008 will be a separate race for kids.
Other new activities at the Noble Street Festival include Loft Living: A Tour of Downtown Loft Apartments and a vintage bicycle exhibit in About Time Antiques located on Noble Street.
The Noble Street Festival is produced by the Northeast Alabama Bicycle Club in conjunction with the City of Anniston, the Spirit of Anniston, and a host of community volunteers. The festival benefits Relay for Life, an American Cancer Society fund raiser. Almost $30,000 has been donated since 2005.
Contacts for more information:
Pedaling Art Tour
Spirit of Anniston
Betsy Bean and Melanie Hill
events@spiritofanniston.org
McWane KidZone
Brooke Nelson
brookenelson@amcvets.com
Sunny King Criterium
Mike Poe
mike.poe@agedwards.com
Red Diamond Restaurant Tour
Linda Hearn
indah@calhounchamber.com
Mellow Mushroom Mad Dash
Anniston Runners Club
Nancy Grace
ncgrace@bellsouth.net
Noble Street Festival
Mike Poe
Northeast Alabama Bicycle Club
mike.poe@agedwards.com
About Red Diamond, Inc.:
Begun in 1906 by William Fitz Donovan, Red Diamond, Inc. has been continuously operated over the past nine decades by members of the same family. Today it serves its customers with over 6,000 beverage and food service products. The company is based in Birmingham, Al. and will celebrate its 100 year anniversary in 2006.
About Sunny King Automotive Group:
Sunny King Automotive Group operates Ford, Honda, Toyota, and Mitsubishi franchises. The company was founded in Anniston in 1922 and remains one of only a few dealerships in the country still owned and operated by the founding family. Patty King currently serves as its president and CEO.
About the Northeast Alabama Bicycle Club:
The Northeast Alabama Bicycle Club (NEABC) exists to promote safe road and mountain biking. We strive to promote the healthy benefits of cycling by planning and sponsoring quality cycling-related events, and by encouraging both recreational cycling and cycling as a viable means of transportation. The club is comprised of approximately 100 members from across northeast Alabama.
About the Spirit of Anniston:
The Spirit of Anniston is a non-profit entity whose mission is to stimulate thoughtful development using the National Main Street Four Point Approach of organization, promotion, economic restructuring and design.
About the Noble Street Festival:
The NEABC has organized and hosted the Cheaha Challenge Century, a 102-mile recreational bicycle ride in Piedmont, Al., for 13 years. This ride attracts more than 500 recreational cycling tourists from more than 20 states. In an effort to enhance this event and attract more tourists, the NEABC sought to provide these Cheaha Challenge cycling guests with more weekend entertainment. As a result, the Cheaha Challenge Criterium bike races, along with A Taste of Noble restaurant festival were born in 2003. The races grew and added Sunny King Automotive Group as a title sponsor in 2005. The restaurant festival grew from four restaurants in 2003 to 15 today and added Red Diamond as a title sponsor in 2006. McWane, Inc, another Birmingham-based company, became the title sponsor for all activities for children at the festival—known now as the McWane KidZone. Mellow Mushroom Pizza became title sponsor of the running race, the Mellow Mushroom Mad Dash in 2007. The 2007 festival attracted more than 5,000 festival attendees.
About USA Cycling:
The company was organized in 1920 as the Amateur Bicycle League of America and was incorporated in New York in 1921. In 1975, the name was changed to the United States Cycling Federation. In 1995, a new organization, USA Cycling, was incorporated in Colorado, and on July 1, 1995, the two corporations merged, with USA Cycling being the umbrella corporation.
USA Cycling is the official cycling organization recognized by the USOC and is responsible for identifying, training and selecting cyclists to represent the United States in international competitions. USA Cycling, doing business as the USCF, NORBA and USPRO, controls nearly two dozen major events each year and issues permits for up to 3,000 more.
The major activities of USA Cycling ensure the ongoing development and safe participation in the sport of cycling. Membership services and a full spectrum of other responsibilities account for the functions of USA Cycling.
Since the creation of the modern bicycle, the United States has been a dominant force in cycling competition. Before World War II, cycling was second only to baseball as a national sporting pastime. Following a period of decline in the 1950s and '60s, cycling regained its popularity and today is the fastest-growing amateur participation and spectator sport. Studies show that more than 99 million Americans are active in cycling. Research further indicates that these people spend more than $4 billion annually to participate in the sport of cycling, and that these expenditures will likely double over the next several years.