It’s really happening. Summer Parkways is headed to the Central District, turning three miles of neighborhood streets into a long car-free, people-filled park.

The weather report for Saturday is looking great. So grab your bike or put on your walking shoes and get ready to spend the afternoon in the sun meeting people and smiling.

Better yet, bring the whole family. And invite all your friends. Tell the Seattle teachers in your life they can bring picket signs. Bring a radio so you can listen to the Seahawks game on the route. Because the more people show up, the more fun it will be (full disclosure: Summer Parkways is a Seattle Bike Blog advertiser).

Aside from the loop of car-free streets, there will also be a bunch of programmed activities in parks and public spaces along the way. From live music to food trucks to free zumba and belly dancing classes, there’s going to be plenty to do to fill your afternoon.

The route opens at 11 a.m. with a ceremony at Garfield Playfield. Then you have until 3 p.m. to explore and have fun. You can also volunteer to help by signing up online here.

If you don’t live in the immediate area, you can catch one of these group rides to the opening ceremony leaving from various parts of town in the late morning:

JOIN A RIDE: Meet new friends and bike together to the event! Rides are being organized from the following locations:

Northwest African-American Museum (2300 S Massachusetts) –  Ride begins at 10 a.m

Cal Anderson Park near the tennis courts (E Pine & Nagle Place) – Ride begins at 10 a.m

Julia Lee’s Park (E Harrison & Martin Luther King Jr. Way East) – Ride begins at 10 a.m

Greenlake Village in the seating area between Menchies and PCC (NE 71st St & 5th Ave NE) – Ride begins at 8:45 a.m.

NE 77th & 20th Ave – Ride begins at 8:50 a.m.

NE 65th & 20th Ave (outside Ravenna Third Place Books) – Ride begins at 9:00 a.m.

All are welcome. All the rides will accommodate riders of all ages and abilities, and they’ll all converge at the Garfield playfields for bike decoration in advance of the launch of Summer Parkways.

Here’s a map of the programmed activities along the route:

For an idea of what you can expect, imagine if you smashed together Bicycle Sundays with a gigantic neighborhood block party. Here’s a video from a Seattle Neighborhood Greenways trip to Portland, which helped convince City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw and Mayor Ed Murray to include funding in this year’s budget:

Also, there’s still time to register for the Disaster Relief Trials (Seattle Bike Blog is a sponsor). The emergency-simulating bicycle alleycat will be headquartered around the Summer Parkways event. Learn more in our previous post.