MONAH is partnering with the inaugural Critical Mass Summit presented by BikeNWA and NWA Trailblazers and supported by the Walton Family Foundation, a two-day event designed to engage underrepresented populations with a focus on all women* (cis and trans), including women of color and the non-binary community in the cycling and active transportation movement. Join us on Friday, July 23, and Saturday, July 24, 2021, with a mixture of virtual events and in-person experiences located throughout the Northwest Arkansas region. Tickets go on sale today, June 15, via their website.
Critical Mass Summit has announced its session leaders as an all women identifying line-up for the event that includes a mixture of local and national speakers, community leaders and holistic practitioners. The weekend’s schedule is intentionally built and led by women who have made a deep impact or change within their field. A preview of the sessions taking place include: Friday, July 23
Ritual and Remedy: Led by Felicia Ruiz, founder of Kitchen Curandera, attendees in this workshop will create their own aromatherapy spritzer and discuss how indigenous aromatics are utilized to calm minds and uplift spirits.
Sustaining Your Own Momentum: Led by Kelsey Blackwell, a somatic practitioner and writer, will teach attendees the importance of momentum and walk away with an embodied practice for cultivating resilience and sustaining well-being to fight fatigue and burnout.
Community Organizing 101: Led Charlene Mack, former Vice President of Movement Building at WEPOWER. Attendees will walk away from this session understanding the foundation of community organizing and understanding power as a foundation tool for shifting the world.
BIPOC-Centered Transportation Advocacy and Urban Planning Workshop: Led by Dr. Destiny Thomas, founder of Thrivance Group.
Friday’s session will be a virtual workshop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with attendees from around the nation invited to attend. Virtual sessions will dive into topics such as mobility and urban design, building community leaders and working towards change, understanding local political structures and processes and how to maintain holistic health while pursuing deep change in the region.
Saturday’s events will be in-person experiences with the intent of introducing attendees to new activities across Northwest Arkansas. Designed to foster relationships and give participants the opportunity to try an activity they have always wanted to experience or deepen their knowledge of, activities include hiking, paddleboarding, Razorback Greenway bike riding, mountain biking, gravel riding, rock climbing, kayaking, yoga, meditation and more. Equipment and expert support will be provided. Saturday’s events will wrap up with an in-person reception at Natural State Rock & Republic located in Springdale for food, drinks and a time to further build new relationships.
Beginning Tuesday, June 15, tickets are on sale in weekend pass or individual day ticket format. For the inaugural event, only attendees who identify as female or non-binary with an interest in social change (individuals or organizations influencing the community), cycling or the active transportation space (human powered transportation) at an individual or organizational level are eligible to attend. While the team behind the Summit has plans to create future events or activations that opens attendance to male-identifying audiences, the first year is focused on prioritizing a comfortable and safe space for women* and non-binary individuals. To learn more, visit: https://www.criticalmasssummit.com/
*The Critical Mass Summit team is conscious of the ever-evolving language around gender and identity. The Summit team uses woman/en to refer to anyone who identifies as female, regardless of sex assigned at birth, gender expression, or gender identity. The goal is to create a space that is inclusive, respectful, and welcoming of the trans, cis, and non-binary communities.
About Critical Mass Summit
Created in 2021 by BikeNWA and NWA Trailblazers, with their initiative Bike.POC, Critical Mass Summit is a two-day experience designed to connect and unite underrepresented populations in the cycling, active transportation, and social change spaces. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram at @critical.mass.summit or visit their website.
About BikeNWA
Founded in 1999, BikeNWA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit working to create a more active transportation friendly community by advocating for safe, connected bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure; supporting programs and events that foster a thriving, fun cycling culture; and ensuring that diverse constituencies have a voice in the development of new policies and infrastructure. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram at @bikenwa.
About NWA Trailblazers
NWA Trailblazers is a nonprofit organization that develops multi-use trails for cycling, running, walking, and most importantly, discovering the beauty found across NW Arkansas. For two decades the NWA Trailblazers have been committed to building quality trails within quick time frames. They are community-driven with the main goal to help NW Arkansas step outside and discover more. Like them on Facebook and follow them on Instagram at @nwatrailblazers
About Walton Family Foundation
The Walton Family Foundation is, at its core, a family-led foundation. Three generations of the descendants of our founders, Sam and Helen Walton, and their spouses, work together to lead the foundation and create access to opportunity for people and communities. We work in three areas: improving K-12 education, protecting rivers and oceans and the communities they support, and investing in our home region of Northwest Arkansas and the Arkansas-Mississippi Delta. In 2019, the foundation awarded more than $525 million in grants in support of these initiatives. To learn more, visit waltonfamilyfoundation.org and follow them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.