Junction Arts Festival's Tweed Ride ends to become part of Sally's Ride

This year's Junction Arts Festival edition of The Tweed Ride will serve as a finale for the festival favourite before it becomes part of the mental health awareness fundraiser Sally's Ride.

Junction Arts Festival executive producer Mary Shannon said the event was joining the Sally's Ride program to make room for "others to participate in the festival in unique ways."

"When we're programming events, we're thinking about giving different opportunities to different community groups," Ms Shannon said.

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"The community engagement aspect of Junction is extremely important because it allows people to be artists for the festival.

"And this isn't a complete goodbye: by finding The Tweed Ride a new home, we can have it live on and give other members of the community a chance to flourish with new styles of event."

Junction Arts Festival regularly opens an expression of interest process in March each year where community members can reach out to offer ideas for unique events.

The Tweed Ride has been part of the festival since 2014 when it was added to the program by then Junction artistic director Natalie De Vito with support from the Tamar Bicycle Users Group.

The non-competitive, fun event has its origins in the British tradition of dressing up to ride push-bikes when they were first invented.

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That tradition inspired modern-day enthusiasts in London to launch the first ever tweed ride-style event in 2009 - which is where Ms De Vito borrowed the idea for Junction's first.

Launceston City councillor and Sally's Ride founding member, Alan Harris, said The Tweed Ride was a more than welcome addition to "the bigger family of cycling".

"It's somewhat of a natural marriage," Mr Harris said.

"Being in a city like Launceston, the various community groups and events can work together to achieve a common goal.

"The people who participate in The Tweed Ride are often the same cyclists who participate in Sally's Ride, which makes it a great match."

The final Junction Arts Festival Tweed Ride will run Sunday, September 24, while Sally's Ride will host a 10-kilometre course for its version on November 26.

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"We'll have the opportunity to have one last ride with Junction in Princes Square and then we'll have a second chance to do it this year, which is fantastic," Mr Harris said.

Ms Shannon said she expects a strong cohort participating in The Tweed Ride's final Junction hurrah with plenty of the event's trademark cucumber sandwiches being doled out.

"I think it's just going to be a really great celebration of community and spirit," she said.

"We're just so glad to be collaborating with Sally's Ride who are another excellent Launceston based organisation that embody the same values we do."

The full Junction Arts Festival Program will be released on Friday, July 28, with tickets for the September 20 to 24 events available at the Junction Arts Festival website.

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