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Playing
for Peace, a Brief History of the Banana Bike Brigade From the whimsical
to the serene, the ridiculous to the sublime, the Banana Bike Brigade's
kinetic creativity defies comparison. We are a unique
group of St. Louis artists dedicated to the art of the parade and
the nurturing of the creative child in everyone. Our mission is
to bring a sense of joy to the eye of the beholder, change the mood
of any space from the ordinary to the extraordinary, leaving a lasting
change for the better, and an air of peace and playfulness to those
places and people they encounter. Taproots School
of the Arts is where it all began. The wheels started rolling in
December of 1994 when two sisters, Karen and Kathy, operators of
a municipal preschool in a nearby community, enrolled in a class
entitled "the art of paper sculpture" offered at Taproots.
The instructor
was the sculptor, Uriel Starbuck. In the spring of 1994 Uriel sculpted,
and then mounted on a bike, a golden mermaid he called the Lorelie.
In the fall of 1994 he donated the Lorelei Mermaid Bike to the first
Bike Works, "Art" Bike Auction. A woman by the name of
Rhonda purchased this bike at the auction. This was actually the
second Lorelie. The first one had been created in Key West fifteen
years earlier. It was after
this auction that the sisters shared an actual dream of making a
riding club called the "Banana Bike Brigade". This was
originally Kathy's idea. She also had the inspiration of "Play
for Peace". The sisters confidently wanted to build bikes like
the ones they had seen at the auction. It was then
that Karen struck out on her own. Soon her dining room table had
turned into a center of creative activity and her families' meals
were being eaten in the kitchen. Her effort produced a beautiful
sea horse bike. Meanwhile at Taproot School through the efforts of Kathy and Uriel, Lorelei number three was being created. This cocreative, or team approach was the first attempt to expand the creative process. With the arrival of March the big downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade drew near and the sisters were ready to take their first ride and crash their first parade. Much to the delight of all in attendance, Uriel also had a bike, the Golden Dolphin. No one knew that as they rode off to dazzle, amaze, and delight the crowd, the Banana Bike Brigade's first joyride had begun. The parade judges went crazy trying to give the BBB's unofficial entry a prize. Another parade, this time in Dog Town, was awaiting the Banana Bike Brigade's unofficial participation. Again the crowd's response was one of joyful delight. The move from three to four bikes was an easy step, accomplished when the second Lorelei and her owner, Rhonda, joined the Brigade. Soon a thematic group, "Sirens of the Seven Sea", were riding through the glass canyons of down town Houston. It was the Banana Bike Brigade's first appearance at the National Art on Wheels, Orange show exhibition. They were on their way to winning their first major trophies. One was for Maximum Creativity on a Minimum Surface and another for the Best Bikes in 1995. Since then the number of bikes and riders has grown steadily. Years of riding the streets of St. Louis and other far away places have come and gone. Places and people that no one could have imagined when those first two parades were crashed have been visited and met. When it's parade time in the heartlands, rain or shine, the brigade is ready to parade! They ride by slowly, smiling and waving to those who only stand and watch. Hopefully leaving some viewers with the question: "Why am I still standing here on the sidewalk?" Perhaps somewhere, someday, the BBB will inspire someone new to take some old bikes and start a group of their own. Then the rest will be, as they say, history.
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