Photos from Bixby Knolls Strollers.
This weekend the Bixby Knolls Strollers, a weekly walking group that meets Saturday mornings to stroll about three miles together, will celebrate 10 years and approximately 1,976 miles logged, the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA) announced Monday.
“What started as my first attempt to connect people to the business corridor has proven to have longevity,” Blair Cohn, executive director of the BKBIA, said in a statement. “And I must say that I am thrilled about it. It was the first way to reconnect the neighborhood to the business district as I quickly discovered there was a great disconnect from people living just a block away.”
What was initially thought of as an “unusual move” was supported by the BKBIA’s board of directors as an effort to bring more energy to the area. The strollers have also encouraged other community-driven programs to get started, including the Bixby Knolls Literary Society, Community Happy Hours, Supper Club, Good Spirits Club and Kidical Mass.
Over the past decade the strollers have used varying routes averaging 3.8 miles to explore businesses, backyards, metro stations, Virginia Country Club, Rancho Los Cerritos, La Linda, Forest Lawn, Sunnyside Cemeteries and more. The group meets Saturday mornings at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf at 4105 Atlantic Avenue, where Cohn also shares the BKBIA’s mission and encourages them to attend upcoming events and support local businesses.
Charming quirks of the group include more unique routes, such as walking through the house of a local neighbor, visiting the “Duck Lady” or tracing the route of “Lawn Chair Man”. Over the years the group has lost a few of its members, which prompted the creation of an unofficial “widowers club” weekly walk.
“The friendships that have developed is something I am also very happy about,” Cohn stated. “I enjoy the fact that so many ]members] of the group will meet up for other social functions. It’s all part of a long-term plan to create a true sense of a connected community in Bixby Knolls.”
This Saturday, the Strollers will be treated by the BKBIA to breakfast, entertainment and a special surprise gift for logging in a decade of friendly mileage together, according to the announcement.
The group meets at 7:15AM every Saturday morning at the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, located at 4105 Atlantic Avenue. The strolls begin promptly at 7:30AM. Coffee Bean provides free coffee each week for the group. (Friendly) dogs are welcome.
Learn more about the Bixby Knolls Strollers here.