Bellingham (WA) The “Bellingham World Naked Bike Ride” event will be occurring on Friday June 3, 2016 at about 6 p.m. This is touted as being the “8th Annual” occurrence of this ride.
The police department will contact participants prior to the event and inform them of the applicable law, Title 9A.88.010 of the Revised Code of Washington (RCW), which prohibits “indecent exposure.” Court rules require a citizen complaint prior to enforcement action. If this is the case, those who are in violation of the law will be arrested and cited. According to the law, increased penalties occur if the person exposes himself or herself to a person under fourteen years of age, or if the violator has been previously convicted of indecent exposure or of a sex offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030.
The police presence is to ensure that participants comply with applicable laws and ordinances. The police presence, and event monitoring, is not intended to be an endorsement of this event.
Organizers of the 2016 ride have provided the police with the following intended route: South on S. Bay Trail from 903 N. State Street to Wharf Street. North on N. Forest from Wharf to E. Holly Street. West on E. Holly to F Street, then north to Dupont. Inbound on Dupont to Prospect and then left on Flora Street to York and Railroad Avenue. South on Railroad to the Farmers Market and then north on Railroad back to York. From York to N. State Street and south on State to the starting point in the 900 block of N. State Street.
The monthly Downtown Art Walk, which is coordinated by Allied Arts of Whatcom County, is occurring from 6 to 10 p.m. on the same evening as the bike ride event. There are points along the naked bike ride route that will intersect with the Art Walk. We are also aware that the Bellingham Downtown Night Market will be in operation and is near a portion of the intended bike route.
