Slow Roll 2026 Kick-Off at Strib Unbound: Sweetness, Solidarity, Reclaiming

Overview

Kick-off Slow Roll 2026 w/Erin Sharkey, writing from Eri, poetry from Junauda Petrus, and a soulful ride through North Minneapolis nature.

🔸 Full Event Description:

🌱 Arts, Poetry, and Pedaling—A Cultural Opening to the Season

Join us as we launch the 2026 Slow Roll season as an official opening event of Strib Unbound—a ride that weaves together art, environmental justice, storytelling, and movement.

Hosted by Erin Sharkey, writer, creative, filmmaker, cultural worker, and community storyteller, this ride invites us into a deeper relationship with place, identity, and nature.

Along the route, Erin will share readings from her work and from her collaborator Junauda Petrus, Minneapolis Poet Laureate, whose writing and poetry illuminate the beauty, complexity, and cultural depth of our relationship to land and the outdoors.

Together, we will ride through North Minneapolis, stopping at sites connected to story, memory, and landscape—reclaiming and re-centering the African American relationship to nature.

What to Expect:

• 🚲 A conversational-paced, no-drop ride
• 📖 Live readings and storytelling from Erin Sharkey + Junauda Petrus’ works
• 🌳 Exploration of North Minneapolis parks, river connections, and greenways
• ✊🏾 Reflections on environmental justice and cultural narratives of land
• ☕ Coffee and gathering at the start
• 🥣 Oatmeal bar and community connection at the finish

Date & Time:

Saturday, May 9, 2026
🕘 8:00- 9:00 AM – Coffee & Gathering
🕤 9:00 AM – Ride Begins
🕦 ~10:30 AM – Return & Oatmeal Bar

📍 Location:

The Trailhead at Theodore Wirth Park
📍 1221 Theodore Wirth Parkway, Minneapolis, MN

Who Should Ride:

• All are welcome
• Ages 10+ (younger riders welcome if being pulled)
• All experience levels—this is a slow, supported community ride

Ride Details:

• Conversational pace
• No-drop (no one left behind)
• Ride marshals and support included
• Bring your own bike or inquire about access options

The Slow Roll Mission:

Meet someone you’ve never met before and see something in the city you love that you’ve never seen before.

Featured Host & Collaborators:

Erin Sharkey
Writer, editor, and cultural strategist whose work explores identity, land, and belonging through story and lived experience.

Junauda Petrus (works featured)
Minneapolis Poet Laureate, lifelong cyclist, nature advocate, and cultural translator whose writing connects community, imagination, and landscape.

Co-Hosted by Northside Connectors:
Felicia Perry & Seaarra Hetherington

Why This Ride Matters:

This is more than a ride—it’s a cultural opening.
A moment to begin the season grounded in story, movement, and connection to land.