Music Therapy Ride 2013

This Saturday you can join the 12th annual Music Therapy Ride from Richmond to Whistler to raise funds for community-based music therapy services in British Columbia.

This charity motorcycle ride, escorted all the way by the Vancouver Police Department’s Motorcycle Drill Team, will set out from the River Rock Casino after breakfast and head right up to Whistler with celebrity guest rider Dan Mangan. Upon arrival at there will be lunch at the GLC, a live auction and live music from The Washboard Union.

As a result of eleven years of dedication, support and generosity, the Music Therapy Ride has raised over $550,000 for the Canadian Music Therapy Trust Fund. Recipients of funds raised from the Music Therapy Ride have included: Canuck Place, BC Cancer Agency,Vancouver Oral Centre for Deaf Children, Camp Moomba, Brookhaven Extended Care Facility, George Pearson Centre, BC Women’s Hospital, the Society for Disability Arts and Culture and many more.

The proceeds from this year’s ride will support the maintenance and continued use of the mobile recording studios designed specifically for music therapists called Bandwagons. These mobile studios contain recording software, sound processing equipment and a variety of musical instruments. The Music Therapy Ride has funded the creation of 2 Bandwagons thus far. Bandwagon 1 arrived at its permanent residence, the BC Children’s Hospital, in July 2011. Created in 2012, Bandwagon 2 provides music therapy programs in the lower mainland of British Columbia, traveling to various institutions for six-week residencies.

Registration is still open for Saturday’s event. Motorcycles, passengers, and classic cars are welcome although there is limited space for cars. You can sign up for the ride if you’re a single or double rider or a four-wheeled vehicle.

Follow the Music Therapy Ride on Twitter or Facebook for more information. If you can’t make the ride, you can still donate online to the cause.