 Hi, my name is Lee Deforth with the City of Columbia Planning Department, I'm the Comprehensive Planner. Hi, I'm Christina Gallardi and I'm the co-chair of the Bike and Pedestrian Advisory Committee for the City, also known as BPAC, and welcome to Destination Hometown. Perfect. So, Open Streets is being held this Sunday, April 22nd from 1 to 5 p.m. on Divine Street between Sims and Chatham, and that's about three blocks where we're closing the street to allow people to enjoy the street in a new way. This is different from a festival, it's really a street transformation. And we're focusing on some key themes in terms of sustainable transportation, physical fitness, living streets, and civic pride. And those are carried out through different activities that are led on the street during that time. We want folks to come out from the community and to participate in those activities together to learn about local business, to participate in physical activity and enjoy the outdoors, to engage with their neighbors, and to enjoy the City of Columbia. Open Streets events are part of a national movement and the City of Columbia, this is our second year that we're doing it with the heavy help of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, and they have really brought to the city an event unlike any other. We know we're really good at holding festivals in the City of Columbia, but like Christina said, what's important about this is that it's really engaging folks in the streetscape. When you think about the number of roadways we have in the city, think about how much space that takes and how roadways can provide opportunities, but also how they can provide barriers between neighborhoods, between communities. And what this does is it allows us to close the street and be part of that national and international movement. The Even Streets movement actually started in Columbia, the country, not the city, in the 1970s. And so this has really spread internationally, and these activities vary from closing down a block to closing down the entire city downtown core. So we're really looking to expand upon what we did last year, engage those folks who really enjoyed it last year, but also engage so many folks to really think about how you might be able to take this home to your own community throughout the city. BPEC's mission is to really promote biking and walking culture in the city of Columbia, and we do that by advising the city council on some of their different policies and programs and also working very closely with the city planning department. But we also want to do education and different initiatives in the community to really raise awareness about biking and walking as forms of transportation that are a great way to get around the city and get physical activity and to get a different experience of the city and become closer to the city in that way. So we think that this is a great opportunity to help encourage people to enjoy the street in a different way than when you're driving down it in your car and to hopefully either bike or walk to the event if possible, but to enjoy physical activity while you're there and then to continue to look for opportunities to walk and bike to parks or down your street or come to Columbia and park and then walk around downtown. Just this can be a starting point for a transformation in the way that you travel and experience the city. We've got about 30 activity leaders, so there'll be all sorts of different things from yoga in the street to engaging kids in either baseball game or something like that. But last year we had some really, I think the activities that stand out for me and Christina, you may have some as well, but Pelican Snowballs came with their snowball truck and they were allowing folks to throw snowballs at the under. So you're practicing your aim, right? It's a physical activity and snowballs without the sugary substance. But folks really got engaged in that. We had folks doing yoga in the street. We had a group with stand-up paddle boards, California Republic, that was out there and they had the paddle boards set up on air mattresses so people could test and see what doing a stand up or paddling on a stand-up paddle board felt like with, of course, no water. I mean, the street was your water, but it was really neat to see folks of all ages engaged with those activities. We had the pedal parlors so people were riding up and down the street. So we think there'll be those types of opportunities and more this time around and we'd really love all the kind of experience it with us. I think my personal favorite was one of the local bike shops had e-bikes for folks to test out, which are more common internationally and even on the West Coast for people to just get to work or go grocery shopping. It gives you a little assist so you can carry more things on your bike. And I'd never gotten to experience one, but I got to use one up and down the street. I'm really tempted to buy one if I start to travel further distances. So it was fine. Come out and see it. We'd love to have you all. It's certainly in a pretty accessible location. You can walk or bike there if you're close by. You can also ride the Komet. The Komet is detouring their route along Blossom. So and you can put your bike on top of the Komet or in front of the Komet. So if you're if you'd like to bring your bike out and ride around. We found so many folks just had had a good time being in the street last year. And we hope that y'all can see kind of how how we can transform a street for a day in Columbia. OpenStreetsColumbia.com is the website. It's also on the city's website on the main page and the their activity maps posted. So we'll have where those activities are taking place. But really it's you know, it's it's a three block section. So you can get there and kind of peruse the blocks during that one to five time. We think you'll really enjoy being there. We hope you'll join us and get to experience the street in a different way.