This article was scraped from Rochester Subway. This is a blog about Rochester history and urbanism has not been published since 2017. The current owners are now publishing link spam which made me want to preserve this history.. The original article was published April 20, 2015 and can be found here.
The following is a guest post submitted by Scott Wagner .
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On Monday April 27 at 7pm, Rochester Bicycle Film Festival
will present its first of three films, Power to the Pedals, and panel discussion with the filmmaker and other cycling advocates at Little Theatre...
is not a bicycle film; it is a film about community empowerment, sustainability and environmental sensitivity, and economic development through small business facilitated by pedal power.
This is the story of a remarkable woman who defied poverty and gender stereotypes, creating a business which uses sustainable human-powered vehicles for short haul delivery and services in Boston. Her MetroPedalPower
works with local farms and suppliers to provide commercial and residential food delivery, contracts with the City of Cambridge to provide recycling pickup, facilitates a community composting program, and provides fast, efficient local delivery in congested communities competitively with petroleum-powered vehicles.
Wenzday Jane's vision of sustainability was backed by determination, self-education, and self-confidence. Her story and the promise it brings are skillfully presented through filmmaker Bob Nesson's documentary. Much has been written and discussed about the problems and challenges facing our urban areas; MetroPedalPower moves beyond talking and makes a difference in the community through action. Nesson says,
"The film portrays the transformative vision and extraordinary efforts of Wenzday Jane, a woman whose mechanical skills and innovative actions are reshaping her community. Wenzday goes to the heart of the sustainability issue by offering solutions, and suggests that things don't have to be the way they are. Raised in public housing, Wenzday discovered the bicycle. To her, it meant personal freedom and self-determination. She would later develop a passion for mechanics and welding, and learned how to reshape the world around her. Now a self-taught innovator and revolutionary community leader, she heads an urban movement to replace trucks with cargo bicycles for local delivery, municipal waste-hauling for the city of Cambridge, and agricultural distribution. She's creating a more sustainable future by helping others discover the power of the pedal."
We are fortunate to welcome Wenzday Jane and filmmaker Bob Nesson to Rochester in conjunction with the screening. They will discuss what innovation of this type could mean for Rochester on the air on WXXI Connections at 1:00 PM on April 27. After the film screening at 7:00 PM at The Little, we will explore creating initiatives of this kind in Rochester in a community forum led by a distinguished panel:
Wenzday Jane - Visionary founder of MetroPedalPower
Bob Nesson - Award-winning filmmaker of Power to the Pedals
Theresa Bowick - Creator of Rochester's Conkey Cruisers neighborhood health and cycling program encouraging neighbors to inspire neighbors to stay active, make healthy food choices, decrease obesity rates, and create a positive image of their neighborhood
Dan Lill - Founder of R Community Bikes, which provides affordable and effective transportation to thousands of Rochesterians through bicycle donation and volunteer restoration efforts.
Wenzday Jane and Bob Nesson will be available to meet with groups and community leaders April 27 and 28 to educate us about their initiative and how it will help in Rochester. Please contact Scott Wagner at [email protected] to schedule a meeting.
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Power to the Pedals is made possible by a collaborative effort of the Rochester Contemporary Art Center's Ride It: Bicycles and Art in Rochester
initiative and the Rochester Bicycle Film Festival, presenting three films this season:
- Power to the Pedals - Monday, April 27, 7:00 PM, Little Theatre, 240 East Avenue
- Breaking Away - Tuesday, May 12, 7:00 PM, Cinema Theatre, 957 South Clinton Avenue
- Triplets of Belville - Wednesday, May 13, 7:00 PM, Little Theatre, 240 East Avenue
Admission to all films is $8.00; ride your bike to the theatre (bike parking provided) and receive a $1.00 discount.
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