Car Free Days in Hackney Shoreditch Car Free Day 2003 Sunday 21st September 2003 saw the biggest Car Free Day ever held in the borough, and probably the most popular such event ever held in London. See Shoreditch Car Free Day & Carnival. Hackney Car Free Day 2002 Chinese Elvis invites you to Hackney Car Free Day 2002. The heart of Hackney will go car-free on Sunday 22 September, as part of European Car Free Day, also known as 'In Town Without My Car'. From 8am until 8pm, private motor traffic will be diverted away from the Town Hall Square section of Mare Street between Morning Lane and Paragon Road, while a lane will be set aside for buses to continue on their usual route. The rest of the space on the street will be freed up for people to stroll, cycle or just stop and enjoy the relaxed car-free environment. Hackney's Car Free Day will star Chinese Elvis, the fabulous King of Wok and Roll, who will rove around bringing a bit of Las Vegas to E8 on his quadricycle-mounted sound system. Other delights from noon onwards include a carnival procession courtesy of Centreprise and Hackney Cultural Forum, drumming from an afro bloc-style samba drumming troupe Rhythms of Resistence, and DJs including Nelson Dilation (Global Headfunk). Hackney Town Hall will also be open from 9am to 4pm as part of the Open House weekend. Dave Wetzel, vice chair of Transport for London (which is funding the event), will visit Hackney Car Free Day at noon. A former bus driver, Mr Wetzel will drive a state-of-the-art new 'bendy bus' down Mare Street to symbolically 'open' the street for public transport, walking and cycling. The London Cycling Campaign will be giving out free cycling maps, while instructors from Cycle Training Ltd will be running fun events to develop your skill on two wheels, including cycle dodgems and a slow cycle challenge. And if your think your bike needs a checkup, Doctor Bike will also be on duty to give his mechanical diagnosis. Children and young people will be able to learn circus skills like juggling and 'poi' courtesy of Rainbow Circus. There will also be Caribbean and Indian food, and a beer stall, plus market stalls. Schedule 12.00 DJs Nic/Nina (funky dance music) 1.00 Lorraine Bowen and the Chalkwell Ladies Drum and Bass League (cabaret/music) 1.30 DJs Nic/Nina (more funky dance music) 2.30 Parade by carnival groups from last week's Mare de Gras (courtesy of Centerprise and Hackney Cultural Forum) 3.30 Chinese Elvis 4.00 Studio 1 (hiphop/R&B DJs) 5.00 Afro bloc-style samba drum parade by Rhythms of Resistance 5.30 Nelson Dilation (Global Headfunk - global sounds DJ) 7.00 See y'all later Chinese Elvis would love to see you there on the day, and he says he's leaving his Cadillac at home so please follow his example and leave your motor, if you have one, in the garage. The best way to get to Mare Street on Car Free Day will be on foot, by bike, or by public transport (Hackney Central railway station - a North London Line station - or buses 30, 38, 48, 55, 56, 106, 236, 253, 242, 276, 277, D6, W15). Curtain Road Car Free Day 2001 Hackney LCC ran the borough's first-ever car-free day in September 2001 down in Shoreditch.

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