BERLIN – A Berlin resident has plans to host the town’s first “Earth Day Blessing of the Wheels” event April 22 at Stephen Decatur Park.
Gussie Sholtis, creator and coordinator of the event, said most days she sees bikes, strollers and the like pass by the window of her real estate office on Main Street, and after reading a book that mentioned a blessing for bikes at a church in Colorado, she decided to take action.
“Not only do I work in town, I’ve lived here for 22 years,” she said. “Everyone I know gets around this town on a bike, so it made perfect sense to have a ‘Blessing of the Wheels’ for our town. It’s also a good opportunity to show awareness for this major form of transportation for so many.”
Sholtis explained that after deciding to pursue a similar event in Berlin, she searched for a day to host the blessing, ultimately choosing Earth Day as a backdrop.
“Looking at the weather and the calendar, the choice for Earth Day was too obvious to pass up,” she said. “Earth Day has been celebrated every April 22 since its inception on April 22, 1970, and this year it just conveniently happens to fall on a Saturday.”
Sholtis likens the event to a festival, with several activities filling the park.
“We are going to spread things out strategically,” she said.
In addition to the blessing, she said attendees will be able to participate in ongoing yoga, guided walking tours of the park, a nature scavenger hunt, chalk graffiti, a craft station, a drum circle and more.
The event will also host the town’s first .10K, a 109-yard race open to those who rely on walkers or wheelchairs.
The idea for the race, she said, comes after finding very few activities for her mother to do.
“I wanted to have something fun for the elderly or mobility challenged people to participate in,” she said.
Sholtis said several friends, neighbors and local business owners have volunteered their services for the blessing, including individuals from the Maryland Coastal Bays Program Zenna Wellness Studio, the Town of Berlin and Stephen Decatur High School.
“I have a pretty stellar group of friends,” she said.
Sholtis explained that the event will not benefit any cause nor will it partner with any sponsors. The focus of the day, she said, will be on having fun.
“It’s kind of like having a big neighborhood party,” she said. “It’s not a political rally. Let’s just get together and have fun for the sake of having fun.”
Sholtis will be funding the event out of pocket this year, and will host a bake sale and T-shirt sales at the blessing to cover the cost of the banners, flyers and other materials.
“If it turns into something cool, I’ll look for sponsors,” she said. “We’ll see what happens.”
Sholtis encourages people with bikes, strollers, skateboards, wagons, unicycles and any other form of non-motorized wheels to come out and participate. She said the event will be non-alcoholic and non-denominational.
The event will take place from noon to 3 p.m., following the town’s “Clean-up Berlin Day” from 8:30 to noon.
Sholtis also encourages participants to support the local park by voting for Berlin at www.meetmeatthepark.org before the end of the month.
For more information on the blessing, or to help with the day’s festivities, contact Sholtis through the “Earth Day Blessing of the Wheels” Facebook page or call 410-713-2771.
“People are welcome to come and help out,” she said.
