fbpx

Get Healthy De Soto

…having a long-lasting positive impact on the health and safety of the De Soto community by encouraging healthy lifestyle choices, through programs promoting physical activity, healthy nutrition, community involvement, and disease and injury prevention.

Earn your Cycle Parade badge on Main Street

We’re excited about the Cycle Parade again this year. It will give kids a chance to ride their bikes on Main Street, earn a badge, and potentially get a new bike helmet.

The best part: we’ll give away a bike to the best decorated non-motorized vehicle. Dress up the wagon, skateboard, bike, or…

you get the idea right? in the best sports motif you can envision. It might earn you a new bike!

Details:

  • When: Saturday, September 18, 2021
  • What: Registration is from 8-10 AM, with the parade beginning at 10 AM.
  • Who: Everyone is welcome to participate. Just bring your wheels! We ask that all participants 12 and under wear a helmet. We’ll provide helmets for those arriving before the parade as long as supplies last.
  • Where: 520 N. Main Street, at the DeSoto Farmers’ Market Pavilion. The street should be closed, but you can access it from Fletcher, Edington, or the alley. Please watch for pedestrians, since it will likely be a very busy day!
  • How: by moving your body, silly! And by decorating your bike in the best sports motif every! (Kids will get a badge for participating, and probably a popsicle after we return from our ride down Main Street.)

Move More

There are simple ways to add physical activity to your lifestyle, but it takes a little effort to find family-friendly opportunities to move more. One very good opportunity happened last Saturday during the DeSoto Fall Festival. Twenty-eight parents, kids, and volunteers got on bikes and tricycles and rode down Main Street to the cheering of vendors and pedestrians along the way. Their route started at the farmers’ market and included a stop near Clement to chat with a rather large duck. They then continued south almost to Miller and made a u-turn to head back north to the market. Then there were Popsicles, buttons, and a prize for the best decorated bike. (Congratulations Sylas, whose Zamboni design won him a brand new bike!)

There was also a safety clinic, sponsored by Anita Spencer with Edward Jones. Eric Edgar provided great information about biking safely on streets and over railroad tracks. He also lead the parade.

There were no crashes, and the rain didn’t start until everyone was almost back to the market pavilion. Overall it was a great event and very encouraging for kids to get on bikes and ride in the presence of multiple adults. Seeing those examples of adults being active is a great way to emphasize the importance of physical activity.

Special thanks to Hopson Lumber Co. and Walmart for also sponsoring the event. This was the second time both have sponsored the parade, and we’re fortunate to have them. Donna with the Jefferson County Health Department also did a great job of fitting kids with free helmets leading up to the parade. Of course, volunteers make it go as smoothly as can be expected when herding free-range children on bikes down the middle of a street, and for that, Get Healthy DeSoto is thankful!

If you missed the parade, don’t worry. We plan on doing it again. It grew considerably from last year, and we had much better weather. Next year, we’ll put in a request for sunshine too.

Cycle Parade

The De Soto Chamber of Commerce and Get Healthy DeSoto welcome you to celebrate fall with us during the Fall Festival. Decorate your bike with a St. Louis Blues theme and pedal your way down Main Street! The event is FREE, and you’ll get a chance to win a prize for the best decorated bike. New this year: a prize for the adult with the best decorated bike!

The event will begin and end at the DeSoto Farmers’ Market on Saturday, September 21st. Children and youth can be fitted for a free helmet beginning at 8 AM at the market. Registration for the parade will begin around 9:30, with a safety clinic at 9:45. The parade will commence after the safety clinic, and participants will ride south on Main Street to roughly Clement Street before turning around and heading back. All ages are invited to participate, and all non-motorized vehicles are welcome too: wheelbarrows, bikes, strider bikes, etc.

You can complete the form and bring it with you to expedite registration.

Registration Form

Cycle Parade

We’ll be having our second annual Cycle Parade on Saturday, September 21 at 10 am in conjunction with the farmers’ market and the Fall Festival. Registration forms and more information will be coming soon!

2018 Cycle Parade

New for 2018, we’ve partnered with the DeSoto Chamber of Commerce to bring you a Cycle Parade during the Fall Festival on September 22, 2018. Kids of all ages are invited to decorate their non-motorized vehicles with a fall theme, and meet at the farmers’ market to register for the event.

The registration form can be accessed here.

Timeline:

  • 8-9:30 AM – The Jefferson County Health Department will be fitting kids for FREE bike helmets. Helmets available fit most kids from ages 2-14, depending on the size of the child. Fittings take some time, so please come early to avoid the rush.
  • 10 AM – Registration for the parade begins!
  • 10:20 AM – There will be a short safety clinic, so everyone gets tips about cycle safety and is safe during the parade.
  • 10:40 AM – The parade begins. Participants will walk through the market to Main Street. The parade route will go from the market south on Main Street to Clement. UPDATE: For safety reasons, we will turn around at the south end of the route and ride back to the market. Judging will be at the beginning of the parade. The participant with the Best Fall Bling will win a prize. The first 100 participants to register will receive a button.

Thank you to our wonderful sponsors for this event: Kidz Biz Pediatrics, The Lowry Law Firm, Hopson Lumber Co., and DeSoto Supercenter.

News

Contact

[email protected]

Mailing Address

520 N. Main Rd.
DeSoto, MO 63020