Orange is the New Green
The Dutch Community Ride to Raise Money For the Toronto Community Project
On Sunday, June 17th, cyclists of all ages came out to enjoy the annual “Go Green Go Dutch Go Bike” ride to raise money for the Toronto Community Foundation’s “Recipe for Community” project as well as celebrate Dutch heritage and eco-friendly transportation.
Go Green Go Dutch Go Bike is a concept founded by The Consulate General of the Netherlands in Toronto in 2007. Its main goal is to promote biking for both recreation and as a mode of transportation to and from work. The organization works with Dutch communities across Canada to facilitate bike rides and share ideas on building biking culture into their lives and communities.
This year, on behalf of the Dutch Consulate, the ride was organized byBranding For Good, a cause branding and media creation agency in the GTA. Since 2009, Branding For Good (then Eyerocket Design) has been executing the branding for the overall concept along with the branding and marketing of each and every event held in numerous cities across Canada.
The ride started in ´Etienne Brülé Park in Toronto where families gathered to put on their orange shirts and share in a great day. The finish line for the ride was in Toronto’s Distillery District where our cyclists met in a Dutch market in the “Bike Zone” of the Eco-Wheels Show.
To participate in the ride, our cyclists purchased an orange t-shirt for $15.00 that included a drink and a snack at the end of the ride. This year there was a selection of Dutch food to choose from in the Dutch market such as “poffertjes”, a traditional Dutch batter treat, resembling small, fluffy pancakes. On Café Uno’s patio, where we were showing the EuroCup match between Holland and Portugal, a long line of people eagerly waited for the beloved “kroket”, a small bread crumbed fried food roll containing mashed potatoes and ground meat.
The official beer of the event was Amsterdam Brewery’s “Big Wheel” Amber their award winning beer created out of a desire for the perfectly balanced beer. Their slogans “balance in life, balance in beer” and “no bike lanes required” were a perfect match for the event and the product was an ideal match for the Dutch treats served by the Café Uno team courtesy of Niemeyers Imports.
Of course, a Dutch Market wouldn’t be complete without flowers.Bloom ’84 had a great collection of flowers on display including fascinating multi-coloured rose.
The charity was selected by the Dutch Consulate as the Toronto Community Foundation’s “Recipe for Community”. This project strives to raise money specifically for the Cycling Skills Building portion where kids get to participate in bicycle repair/restoration activities as well as safety lessons where they are trained in bicycle safety and given a new bicycle and helmet. We were also able to raise $2,500 for Recipe for Community.
On behalf of the Dutch Consulate and the team at Branding for Good, we want to thank everyone for participating in this year’s “Go Green Go Dutch Go Bike” event in Toronto. Special thanks goes to our Sponsors: Philips, Rabobank, DUCA, Amsterdam Beer and Niemeyers Imports for making the event possible. We also should thank It’s The Right Move for their logistics assistance. Last, we really appreciate all the efforts our media partners, The Dutch Touch, The Nederlandse Courant and the Dutch Treat made in spreading the word about the event.
Without all your support this event would not have been possible.
We look forward to seeing you again next year!!
The Go Green Team.
