GREENFIELD — A colorful bike with a rider made of flowers won the Bikes in Bloom decorating contest this year.
The bike, designed by staff from Healthy365, was one of 27 entries in the annual Bikes in Bloom contest, which brightens up the downtown Greenfield streets each year between Mother’s Day and Father’s Day weekends.
Winners from this year’s contest were announced at the Mutts on Main event on Saturday, May 15. Both the bike display and dog festival are sponsored by Greenfield Main Street, an organization geared toward drawing visitors downtown.
The nonprofit’s director, Debra Smith, said the decorated bikes, which will remain on display through June 20, give people another great reason to stroll around downtown.
“So many people comment that this is one of their favorite events that Greenfield Main Street does, because it really does beautify the downtown,” she said. “We enjoy seeing the unique themes and ideas each group comes up with year after year.”
This year, 23 nonprofits and four businesses decorated bicycles. While each of the bikes carries a different theme, all of them feature a display of fresh flowers.
Smith said this year’s winners were chosen by two anonymous judges with no affiliation with any of the businesses or organizations involved.
Bikes were judged based on creativity, theme and the use of “flower power,” which is incorporating real flowers into the design.
While Healthy365 won first place, Hancock Arts won second place for its artfully decorated bike, which sits in front of the Twenty North art gallery at 21 N. State St.
Smith encourages the public to head downtown to see all the bikes up close.
“This is a great opportunity to get out and walk our downtown and see all the different businesses and organizations’ hard work and creativity,” she said.
The bikes are a fun way to give some publicity to the nonprofits and businesses that design them, said Smith, which is especially good for businesses coming off of a tough year while contending with construction projects that have closed downtown streets.
Charlie Vetters, owner of Organic Robot Designs screenprinting shop, was happy for the chance to design and post a bike in front of his shop on Main Street.
“It is always fun to see what new creations appear each year,” said Vetters, who fitted the spokes on his bike with windmill blades so that the wheels appear to spin in the wind.
He, too, encourages the public to plan a day to come out and see the various bikes up close, while making time to pop in some shops and support downtown merchants.
“It makes for a fun thing to do on a sunny afternoon,” he said.
The Gilded Nest, Co-Alliance and Pocket of Seeds are the other three downtown businesses displaying bikes this year.
Bobbi Anderson, chair for Greenfield in Bloom, said the annual bike display is a great way to promote local nonprofits as well.
Anderson once again led the charge for decorating this year’s Greenfield in Bloom bicycle, which featured a watering can held aloft over an array of flowers, with a stream of lights giving the illusion of water trickling from the can.
Anderson said she and her fellow collaborators always put a lot of thought and planning into each year’s design.
“Do we get into it? I’ll just personally speak for myself when I say yes,” she said.
“We always strive to enter an eye-catching bicycle, and I’m always very pleased and excited with the end result. We choose flowers and plants that we feel will look best for our design,” said Anderson, who makes a habit of driving around town each year to check out the competition.
