Community Corner

K-Rob Festival Aims to Bring East Providence Together

The all-day event will feature a bike ride from Pierce Memorial Field to the Looff Carousel.

BMX championship bicyclist Kevin Robinson wants people to put the cellphones down and shut the laptops off on May 21.

The East Providence native, who is also known as K-Rob, started out with the idea of wanting to do something outside, then came up with the idea of a bike ride from Pierce Memorial Field to the Looff Carousel in Crescent Park.

The idea grew, and now it’s planned as the full-day K-Rob Foundation Family Fun Festival.

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“We really wanted to do an event and show that you can have fun in little old East Providence,” Robinson said.

More than 50 vendors have already signed on for the event, he said. It will feature a rock climbing wall, tae kwan do, karate, kettleball and gymnastic demonstrations. East Providence police and firefighters will also be there with interactive exhibits.

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Rudy Pauls from the Biggest Loser, Louis Stravato from Amazing Race, and professional X games skateboarder Nora Vasconcellos, Tony the Dancing Cop and Indianapolis Colts player Jamie Silva will also be there.

Registration for the four-mile ride starts at 9 a.m. at Pierce Memorial Field. The ride will be $10 per person and $20 for an entire family. People are encouraged to wear red and white.

The ride begins at 10 a.m. and will turn onto the East Bay Bike Path and end at the Carousel.

“We want families to participate,” Robinson said.

The festival starts there at 11 a.m. with food and three bands: Some Weird Band, Kicking Hole and Fungus Amungus. The grand prize for the event is a trip for a family of four to the Summer X Games in Los Angeles.

Robinson, who organized the event with his wife, Robin, said he’s been grateful for the excitement of East Providence residents who have volunteered to help with the event. 

He said he doesn’t approve of division in the city between Riverside, East Providence and Rumford and hopes the festival will help change that.

“I just really want to bring the city together,” he said. 


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