Cyclovia Fall 2024: A happy return to one of our favorite routes

The 21st Cyclovia Tucson spanned from Mission View Elementary School in South Tucson to Armory Park and the Children’s Museum in downtown Tucson, connecting communities that are close in physical proximity but are distinctly different in demographics, histories, and culture. After months of community outreach, partnerships, and planning, the 21st Cyclovia Tucson emerged as a celebration and honor of health, heritage, and community connection.

Even though Cyclovia doesn’t officially “start” until 9am, there were already eager people taking advantage of the car-free route as early as 6 and 7am. It may be because they wanted to beat the heat, or perhaps they were eager to return to Cyclovia after a whole year without it; we sure were!

Arizona Complete Health Hub @ Mission View Elementary

We were thrilled to see the Indigenous Art Market, spearheaded by artists Luis David Valenzuela and Lucky Salaway, bring artisans from around the area to activate a space that is steeped in millenia of Yoeme (Pascua Yaqui) and Tohono O'odham history.

Arizona Complete Health brought an entire bus of health resources to South Tucson, including free mammograms, prostate screenings, and diabetes screenings, as well as information about overall health and wellbeing. Resource tents brought information and aid to South Tucson, from resources for tenants and our houseless community to legal aid.

The activity hosts were the main highlight of the day, but what really brought the hub to life were the performances by both Ballet Folklorico Tapatio and Mariachi Atzlan from Pueblo High School. A congregated group of Cyclovia participants that stopped to watch the flowing colors of costumes from the ballet folklorico dancers swinging left to right and twirling to the music. Then Mariachi Aztlan rolled up and did what they do best, mesmerize a crowd during their hour-long performance, despite the heat. Between the ballet and the mariachi, the wonderful DJs from KPYT and DJ Herm in the afternoon kept the streets alive and groovin even as the heat rose and the clouds dissipated.

The community in South Tucson loves to come together and celebrate the culture and histories of the area, and this Sunday was no exception. What a wonderful way to spend one of the last summer days in Tucson, reclaiming our streets, singing and dancing together in car-free, care-free style.

Ochoa Community School Hub

The Ochoa Community School Hub became an incredible place filled with community power, silliness, tactile learning, and delectable food.

The center of the hub was hosted by some incredible groups and families from the neighborhood. Ochoa’s Chuck and Rosamaria posted up near the beautiful painted roundabout that they created in partnership with LSA in 2019. At the JVYC tent, director Alejandra and her youth from their teen program kept people hydrated and energized with fresh fruit and electrolytes. And it was especially sweet to see the youth from the JVYC Bike Club connect with their LSA and BICAS Bike Club instructors.

Across the street, Dee and Josh from E and J Frybread were slanging their famous popovers from the comfort of their driveway. Dee’s family (which includes our illustrious DJ Guillermosito, aka Preston) has been in this home for 100 years, holding it down in the community, and enjoying multiple generations of Ochoa and JVYC alumni.

DJ Guillermosito kept the old school jams bumping all day, folks stayed cool eating paletas and drinking lemonade. Folks were chilling in the shade and enjoying frybread and tacos, and bouncing around to all the groups hosting activities, which included a super fun custom-button making activity from The Gloo Factory, musical exploration with a slew of fun instruments from Tucson Symphony Orchestra, short-burst Zumba in the street from Amanda Limon, and a row of booths engaging our curious minds about neuroscience, climate advocacy, housing justice, holistic wellness, and desert ecology from the Sonoran Institute, the Homing Project, Moroso Wellness, and others.

Luna y Sol Hub

The Luna y Sol Hub was really a celebration of the space that will soon open as Luna y Sol Cafe with gourmet coffee, community artists, and community organizations in South Tucson. Located at the former South Tucson landmark, Ray and Sons Ballon Land that has been vacant for some time, the space was brought back to life with hours of dancing cumbias with Barrio Restoration, a gorgeous mural reveal by local artists Sal and Isela, a little library install and dedication by the Mini Poderosas, and a really sweet “Nana’s Lounge” where older folks from the neighborhood were relaxing, people watching, and of course, chismeando.

The care and intention behind this community space revival was palpable. It’s clear that Luna y Sol is not a corporate prospect but an opportunity for South Tucson to continue defining who they are and what they want for their future. Selina Barajas was at the forefront of activating this hub and will be opening Luna y Sol Cafe early next year—make sure to check it out!

Drachman Montessori Hub

The Drachman Montessori Hub was a perfect respite along the route for people who want to take a break in the grassy park, rehydrate, and appreciate the slow moments of Cyclovia. Walking from one end to the other of Drachman hub was so delightful!

On the North end you were greeted with the song circle and harmonic oral traditions coming from the Monsoon Seed Choir, followed by chatter about bikes at the REI bike repair station and the kids whizzing by to hit the bike rodeo course led by El Grupo and GABA. DJ Desiree and DJ Shrek kept people dancing and singing “Como La Flor” and other hits, while others let themselves get silly with the hula hoops and chalk. Churros el Rey and Irene’s Ice Cream were a hit in the afternoon and the Rain Tunnel north of 22nd Street was full of kids circling back around to go through again and again.

Banner — University Medicine Hub @ Armory Park

Close to the heart of Downtown, 6th Ave at Armory Park and the Children’s Museum see a lot of traffic on any given day, but not Cyclovia Sunday. Families and kids of all ages joyfully strolled and rolled through with ease. The place was PACKED and filled with gleeful sounds of people chatting, laughing, and friendly bike bells chiming.

Once Genuine BMX set up along Armory Park, they set a vibe with a bumping soundtrack of club and house hits from the late 1900s. It was a perfect show for the beer garden, watching Spider-man trade his web slinging for high-flying BMX flips and tricks.

Project Bike Club brought a chill bike rodeo, for those who prefer to stay closer to the ground right next to the Banner—University Medicine and Banner—University Family Care booth, that made sure everyone had the outdoor essentials like sunscreen and other necessities.

There were so many edible options to choose from: Cold sweets, sushi, coffee, Cuban, and Italian. Along 13th Tucson Circus Academy performed aesthetic aerials while people biked through and enjoyed nosh provided by local food trucks.

The sounds of Cyclovia continued with KXCI Community Radio DJs keeping the beats bumping.

There were so many things to do, see, and hear! This hub was a perfect bookend to Cyclovia, with plenty of grass, tree shade, curb space, and space for bike parking. Even after the morning overcast disappeared and the heat set in, the crowd lingered to the very end to make the most of the ease of car-free streets.

See more photos from Cyclovia

Moving forward with gratitude and curiosity

Cyclovia is a one-day example of how a community can envision public space differently. We know paradigm shifts are possible through creativity and collaboration; and that collaboration is not simply a means to an end, but integral to building the shared power structures required for challenging mainstream decision-making and built environments.

LSA staff, Board and volunteers are so grateful for the community partners on this and every Cyclovia, who continue to teach us about what it means to engage their individual communities and build a broad and joyful movement for better streets for everyone. We are taking learnings from this route’s challenges and working towards improvement of engagement strategies, with a goal of ensuring that everyone near the Cyclovia route knows about the event and feels invited.

We'd love your feedback and involvement in the Open Streets movement in Tucson. Get in touch if you feel inspired to help make the next Cyclovia events even better.

What if our streets, instead of being sites of harm, frustration, and hardship, were transformed into community spaces where our needs could be met; places filled with resources, art, performances, movement, play, and where getting the support we need is a regular part of how we interact with and enjoy our streets every day?