March 27, 2023 – (KEY WEST, FL). Love pedaling the Zombie Bike Ride or the monthly Southernmost Slow Ride? Recycle a few of your old CDs, paint old PVC pipes leftover from home improvement projects, or grab the bubble wrap from your latest package delivery to create an art bike or human-powered kinetic sculpture for this year’s Papio Kinetic Sculpture and Art Bike Parade, set to kick off at the Key West Museum of Art & History, 281 Front Street, on Saturday, April 22 at 12:00 p.m., which also happens to be Earth Day. Mobile sculptures and art bikes will launch at noon from the Key West Museum of Art & History, traveling the full length of Duval Street to the Southernmost Pocket Park where a block party and awards ceremony celebration will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Co-produced by Key West Art & Historical Society and Wonderdog Productions, the family-friendly kinetic (think art with parts that move!) parade is a perfect way to put your creative and engineering genius on display and revel in the enjoyment. Human-powered Kinetic Sculptures and Art Bikes can be simple, whimsical, futuristic, or fantastical, and teams of any number and age can enter. Recycling is highly encouraged. Cash prizes will be awarded in multiple categories, including a youth/school category. Registration is $25 for kinetic sculpture floats and $15 for art bikes.
Get inspired by the parade’s namesake Stanley Papio, the late Florida Keys folk artist and rebel metal artist who explored the value of recycled materials around the time the first Earth Day event took place in 1970. Many of his witty and imaginative works are on permanent display in the “Stanley Papio: Junkyard Rebel” exhibit at Fort East Martello Museum, 3501 S. Roosevelt Blvd.
For registration information, event schedule, sponsorship information and entry guidelines, visit www.papiokineticparade.com. Presented by Key West Art & Historical Society and co-produced by Wonderdog Studios, the kinetic extravaganza is supported in part by the State of Florida Division of Arts & Culture, The Helmerich Trust, Destination Florida, WeCycle, The Helmerich Trust, Keys Weekly, and Fran Sessa and Norman Hunt. Your Museums. Your Community. It takes an Island.
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IMAGE 1: The family friendly Papio Kinetic Sculpture & Art Bike Parade is set to return this Earth Day, April 22. Presented by the Key West Art & Historical Society and Wonderdog Studios, the parade will begin at the Key West Museum of Art & History at noon, traveling the full length of Duval Street, and finishing at the Southernmost Pocket Park with an awards ceremony. To register your float or art bike, or to find out more information, visit papiokineticparade.com (Image: Key West Art & Historical Society)
