Spring! May 16 festival launches Pan Am Path Art Relay with eco-art, kid friendly activities & public bike ride led by 3-time Olympic Medalist Curt Harnett

TORONTO, May 11, 2015 /CNW/ - Spring!, a one-day festival taking place on Saturday, May 16th at the Centre for Urban Ecology, celebrates the launch of the Pan Am Path Art Relay. The event features eco-art activities and kid-friendly programs by Arts for Children and Youth, ROM BioBlitz, Dos Mundos, David Suzuki Foundation, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Etobicoke Master Gardeners, the Centre for Urban Ecology and the Toronto Bicycle Music Festival.

Activities include live DJs and music, dance performances, art installations, sports activities,  tree plantings, gardening workshops, art installations, live art, food, sporting events,  and  live performances by Juno Award Winner Quique Escamilla and more.

Watch the video trailer here: https://vimeo.com/126098159. Download the Pan Am Path App here: www.panampath.org.

Invited speakers include Elder Garry Sault, Minister of State for Sport Bal Gosal and President and CEO of the Toronto Foundation Rahul K. Bhardwaj.

The public is invited to join the Playing for Keeps Bike Ride on the Path led by 3-time Olympic Medalist Curt Harnett. The public ride marks the launch of the Pan Am Path Art Relay. Beginning at 11 a.m. at the Centre for Urban Ecology in the Humber Arboretum, the public ride travels south along the path to Pine Point Park and will return to Humber College by 1 p.m. in time for the official Art Relay Launch event: Spring!, which will features eco-art festivities and kid-friendly programs. Please bring your helmets.

The event takes place rain or shine (full indoor area).

WHEN:	Saturday May 16, 2015 11:00 AM - Playing for Keeps Bike Ride with Curt Harnett 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Spring! main event: family friendly eco-art events 1:30 PM - Speeches
WHERE:	Centre for Urban Ecology in the Humber Arboretum Humber College and University of Humber-Guelph, 205 & 207 Humber College Blvd., Toronto ON, M9W 5L7

About The Pan Am Path & Art Relay

The vision of the Pan Am Path is to combine the power of art and sport to create a living path across Toronto. From May 16 to August 15, 2015, the Pan Am Path will come alive with a city-wide relay of art installations and events. Each week, the festival will travel across Toronto to celebrate some of this the city's greatest assets: diversity, nature and arts and active outdoor living. 

From May 16 to August 15, 2015, the Pan Am Path Art Relay travels across Toronto, engaging with local community groups to celebrate some of the city's greatest assets: diversity, nature and arts. The series of events will take place along the different zones of the path and will feature public art installations, music, performances, and family-friendly festivals.

Friends of The Pan Am Path has also launched The Pan Am Path App a wayfinding mobile app that matches your geographic location on the Path to music that is rooted in the communities you are traveling through via 4 local music-streaming stations. Other Features will include: a full map of the path, directions to nearby local businesses, accessible routes, and a calendar of Pan Am Path Art Relay programming.

The Pan Am Path is an 84-kilometre continuous trail for walking, running, cycling and wheeling that connects the city from east to west. Combining the power of art and sport, the Art Relay will showcase Toronto's diverse neighbourhoods and rich arts scene along the Path and will serve as a lasting legacy of the Toronto 2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am Games.

Friends of the Pan Am Path is the main organizer of the Pan Am Path Art Relay, motivated by the chance to celebrate the best of the region: art, nature and diversity -- while also creating a meaningful legacy of the TORONTO 2015 Games for residents. The project is proudly supported by the City of Toronto, Toronto Foundation, Ontario Trillium Foundation, Ontario Cultural Attractions Fund, Toronto Star, Toronto Arts Council, Trans Canada Trail, Canadian Heritage, United Way Toronto, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority, Laidlaw Foundation, Lotus Leaf, Culture One and Westbury National. The festival takes place along the Pan Am Path, a multi-use, 84 km trail connecting Toronto's communities.

For the full Pan Am Art Relay event calendar map and participating organizations, please visit: http://www.panampath.org.

About AFCY and Centre for Urban Ecology

AFCY, working with partners, provides opportunities for children and youths in under-resourced communities and schools to engage in hands-on, high-quality arts education. The Centre for Urban Ecology offers a venue for urban ecology education and research and maintains the lowest-possible environmental impact.

NEXT-UP IN THE RELAY! Sat. May 23 - Freedom Fridayz Festival & Born This Way Mural, Pine Point Park
See a new community artwork and celebrate the achievements of young Toronto artists with dance, music and food. Experience the unveiling of a new mural by Essencia Art Collective and the Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, and join Freedom Fridayz for a party in Pine Point Park. Free food while quantities last. Rain or shine / indoor area. Saturday, May 23 at 1:00pm - 7:00pm Pine Point Park  4 Conan Rd., Toronto ON, M9W 3S7

SOURCE Friends of the Pan Am Path

MEDIA CONTACT: Andrea Chrysanthou, [phone], [email protected]; Julia Che, [phone], [email protected]