event website.
As a reaction to the high price of tickets for the BTA’s Alice Awards & Auction fundraising gala, a group of well-meaning Portland bike activists have announced their own version — the “Too Po’ Fo’ Alice Potluck.”
On the event’s Facebook page, organizer of the potluck, Matt Picio writes,
“Do you have $100+ to go to the BTA’s Alice Awards this year? I don’t. Whatever you think of the BTA, that night is when the BTA recognizes that there are other people (gasp! who might not even be MEMBERS!) who also contribute to the bicycle community in Portland – and we also think they should be honored. So we’re going to an AFFORDABLE awards dinner that same night, and give our own awards to the Alice nominees who we feel have contributed most to Portland’s bike community.”
Picio also makes it clear that this event is “partly tongue-in-cheek” and that he feels the BTA “does a lot of good work.” But he also writes that that good work comes at a price:
“What started as a community event is starting to look solely like a fundraiser for the elite. The beauty of the “Alice of Olde” is that it brought together grass-roots advocates with Portland’s biggest names in bikes, in business, community and government. Hopefully it will be so again, but in the meantime – we’re having our own little shindig!”
The Alice Awards are the BTA’s largest annual fundraiser. According to their financial statements, the 2008 event brought in just under $60,000 in charitable contributions. The event has grown in recent years and attendance was about 750 last year. Tickets for the event cost $75 dollars.
More details on the Too Po’ Fo’ Alice Potluck, and reactions from those who plan to attend, on the event’s Facebook page.