Ten years ago, a Gary program was created to bring bikes to the city.
Now, a Gary woman’s film company is premiering “Take Bike the Streets,” a documentary focused on bicycle advocacy across Northwest Indiana.
“(We learned) about 19% of the Gary population depending solely on public transit, and there was no bike shop at all within the city,” said Jessica Renslow, a Gary resident and creator of “Take Bike the Streets.”
From 4 to 6 p.m. Saturday, “Take Bike the Streets” will premiere at the Marshall J. Gardner Center for the Arts in Gary’s Miller neighborhood. Tickets can be bought online or at the door and are $5 or “whatever you can donate,” according to a news release.
All proceeds will go to the Ken Parr Build a Bike program. Parr, who died in 2016, was one of the original volunteers, a local science teacher and cycling advocate.
The program helps build and repair bikes from June to August, according to the “Take Bike the Streets” website. Since 2021, the program has hosted virtual courses and met for bimonthly workshops, which are free and available to people of all ages.
“Ken was our bike guy,” Renslow said. “I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. We have to keep this going in his honor.’”
“Take Bike the Streets” originally premiered in Italy, but Gary’s Saturday showing is the documentary’s U.S. premiere, Renslow said.
“I was saving the U.S. premiere for this, so that we could do it as a little fundraiser for Build a Bike because all proceeds go to help run the program and get kids and adults to learn about bikes,” Renslow said. “This is a good way to bridge all things bike.”
Gretchen Sipp is a longtime Gary resident and volunteer with Build a Bike. She is one of the people interviewed for the film and said she helped participate in the inception of the idea, by surveying community members and taking part in brainstorming sessions.
Sipp wanted to volunteer with the program because she thinks it’s important to educate people of all ages about bike safety. She’s happy to say she was part of the documentary.
“‘Take Bike the Streets’ was something that everyone could do — regardless of skill, ability, mobility — everyone could have a part, whether you’re taking a bike ride, fixing one or volunteering to help on the administrative side,” Sipp said. “‘Take Bike the Streets’ was one of those all-inclusive things that everybody knew that we needed. We needed some active transportation in our vast community.”
The film premiere is bittersweet, Sipp said, especially because Parr can’t witness it and the work that’s highlighted.
After 10 years, Build a Bike has become a longstanding Gary initiative, Sipp said, and she thinks Parr would be proud to see what it turned into.
“He was a quiet, reserved man, but he was a staple in our community,” Sipp said. “He did his part, and no one had to ask him. … He took the initiative to take pride in where he lived, and it affected many people.”
Second-year students at the Hammond Area Career Center helped edit “Take Bike the Streets,” Renslow said. Renslow has known the career center teacher who oversees the radio and television production program since high school.
Stephanie Reiser said six students were originally involved in the editing, but three finished the film.
“Part of my curriculum in the second-year program is strictly client work,” Reiser said. “I’m always looking for clients for my students to get real world experience with. So working with (Renslow) was a great opportunity to do client work and have them work independently.”
Reiser hasn’t seen the finished product of “Take Bike the Streets,” but it makes her proud to know that her students played a part in its production.
“My students did something amazing, and it’s nice to know I had a hand in that,” Reiser said. “As a teacher, it’s pretty amazing for me to watch my students become involved in stuff like this.”