David Byrne will host an evening of music, discussion, film, readings, and surprises dedicated to the advancement of bicycling in New York City, including talks and performances by the Classic Riders Bicycle Club, Jan Gehl, Buck Henry, Calvin Trillin, Paul Steely White, Jonathan Wood, and the Young@Heart Chorus.
- David Byrne is an Academy Award-winning musician and visual artist who co-founded the rock group Talking Heads in 1976. He has bicycled in New York City for almost thirty years.
- The Classic Riders Bicycle Club is a Brooklyn-based group of antique-bicycle enthusiasts.
- Jan Gehl is a Danish architect and the author of “Life Between Buildings: Using Public Space.” His work in Copenhagen and elsewhere has sought to improve the environment for cyclists and pedestrians.
- Buck Henry is an actor, screenwriter, and director. He co-wrote “The Graduate,” co-directed “Heaven Can Wait,” and has appeared in more than thirty films.
- Calvin Trillin has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1963.
- Paul Steely White is the executive director of Transportation Alternatives, a New York-area citizens’ group working for better bicycling, walking, and public transit.
- Jonathan Wood is the deputy chairman of the Warrington Cycle Campaign, which promotes safer cycling in Warrington, England, and aims to enable more people to travel by bicycle in the town through more equitable sharing of roadways.
- The Young@Heart Chorus was formed in 1982 at a meal site for the elderly in Northampton, Massachusetts. Its current members are between seventy-three and eighty-eight years of age.
This event is part of The New Yorker Festival: "a day of interviews, panel discussions, and talks by New Yorker writers; Early Shift and Late Shift events, many of them featuring live musical performance, throughout the city; the inaugural New Yorker Debate; a sneak preview of the upcoming feature film 'The Kite Runner'; a Saturday Night Special with David Byrne on urban bicycling; and humor events and free book signings at Festival Headquarters."
