GREENFIELD — Bikes in Bloom are back!
The annual springtime display of bicycles with flowers in full bloom have returned to downtown Greenfield for the 11th year in a row.
Sixteen colorfully decorated bikes are on display at bike racks scattered throughout town.
The downtown tradition is organized each year by Greenfield Main Street.
“It gives people one more really cool thing to look at when they’re walking around downtown,” said the nonprofit’s executive director, Heather Condra.
Each year, local nonprofits and businesses are invited to design and decorate a bike that shares a bit about the organization that created it.
A purple and white bike designed by A Focused Touch Day Spa features a mannequin with manicured nails, dressed in gray sweatpants and a robe, apparently on her to a spa day.
Another bike placed outside a downtown bike repair shop features pinwheels protruding from baskets of fresh flowers, a sign of peace used to promote the prevention of child abuse.
A bike designed by Hancock County Senior Services at the corner of State and South streets features a whimsical theme — based on the animated movie “Up,” in which an elderly man affixes hundreds of balloons to his house to lift it into the sky. The bike features a miniature replica of a house and the balloons, which are fastened to a maroon colored bike.
Condra said strolling around downtown and taking a look at the bicycles up close is a great way to get familiar with the local nonprofits and businesses that design the bikes.
It’s also a great way to become more familiar with all the shops, restaurants and other merchants downtown, she said.
Bikes in Bloom — which are typically on display from Mother’s Day through Father’s Day weekends — are on display through June 16 this year.
This year’s participants include: A Focused Touch Day Spa; Ella Junes; Greenfield-Central School Corp.; Greenfield in Bloom; Greenfield Parks Department; Hancock County Senior Services; James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home; Keystone Cooperative; PAWS; Psi Iota Xi; Riley Festival; Tri Kappa; The Gilded Nest; The Landing Place; and The Villages Healthy Families.
