This year marks an incredible milestone: 20 years of growth, gears, and community impact at Blackstone Bicycle Works, as a program of Experimental Station. BBW has proudly served Woodlawn and Chicago’s South Side as a vibrant, youth-focused bike workshop for the past two decades.

TICKETS ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

Blackstone Bicycle Works’

20th Anniversary Celebration Fundraiser

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6 | 6-9PM

GOOSE ISLAND TAPROOM

1800 W FULTON ST, CHICAGO, IL 60612

JOIN US FOR THE CELEBRATIONS

OVER BEERS, DELICIOUS EATS, AND A CAN’T-MISS RAFFLE!

ENTER THE RAFFLE TO WIN HIGH QUALITY CYCLING PRIZES FROM OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS!

Close-up of a black and white license plate with the text 'FOR SALE' in bold red letters and the words 'Hard To Find' underneath.
The image features the logo of PDW, with a stylized blue globe and the text 'pdw' in lowercase white letters on a black oval background.
Illustration of a cyclist riding a bike on water with a sailboat, clouds, birds, and a lighthouse in the background, with text reading 'Patagonia Chicago'
Krypont logo on a yellow background with black text.
Text graphic saying 'Selle Anatomica Handmade in America' with decorative lines above and below.

GET TICKETS NOW!

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Your sponsorship is an investment in hands-on youth education on Chicago’s South Side. 

By sponsoring Blackstone Bicycle Works' 20th Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser, you will support programs that empower youth, strengthen communities, and expand access to cycling education and transportation.

Explore our sponsorship levels and find the opportunity that best aligns with your commitment to creating lasting community impact.

SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
A young woman with braided hair smiling and wearing a cycling jersey standing with a bicycle inside a bike shop with brick walls, bicycle accessories, and equipment around.
A person with dreadlocks, wearing a racing jersey, sitting in a store surrounded by bike helmets and gear, smiling and holding a bicycle wheel.
Two young women with bicycles standing in front of a chain-link fence with a large sign that reads "Blackstone Bicycle Works Bike Shop After School Youth Program." One woman is wearing a hoodie and jeans, the other is wearing a jacket and pants. There are bicycles parked behind them and trees visible in the background.
A young boy wearing a helmet riding a bicycle on a street with trees, utility poles, and a mural on the fence in the background.
A man in a racing suit taking a selfie, smiling, with curly hair and a mustache, in a black and white photo.
A black poster with a heart-shaped graphic hugging a face mask, promoting donations of $20 a month to support youth programs in Chicago's South Side.

Can’t make it? Support our work today

Group of people on bicycles participating in a community event, with orange traffic cones and barriers set up on the street, surrounded by trees and urban buildings.

Blackstone Bicycle Works’ Roots

What began as a retail shop and youth education program in 2006, quickly became something more powerful. Young people didn’t just learn to fix bikes, they gained experience in the operations of running a bikeshop. From sales and service to full mechanical overhauls, youth supported Blackstone Bicycle Works program managers, building their confidence, responsibility, and real-world skills while keeping neighbors biking.

Did You Know?

Long before it was Blackstone Bicycle Works, the Resource Center—Chicago’s very first recycling center—operated a bike shop in this same space during the 1990s. Following a fire, the Resource Center was incorporated into the Experimental Station, and shortly after, Blackstone Bicycle Works was (re)born. Our mission of sustainability and community renewal is baked into the very foundation of this building.

A smiling young girl holding a wire frame sculpture of connected circles. She is wearing a shirt with a butterfly design and is in a classroom or workshop setting with other people in the background.
Black and white photo of a person working on a bicycle wheel, with the person partially obscured behind the wheel and a cup in front.
Three children riding bicycles along a street with graffiti on a wall in the background. All children are wearing helmets.
Three young girls in cycling gear with helmets posing with bikes outdoors at a cycling event.
A person standing with a bicycle in front of a mural on a wall. The person is wearing a helmet, glasses, a t-shirt, shorts, and leggings, and is smiling.

Shifting Gears

Five years ago, Blackstone Bicycle Works shifted gears to focus solely on youth education, closing our retail shop. At the heart of our youth education is the Apron System, a leveled framework designed to guide youth through progressive mechanical skill-building and personal leadership growth. Youth ages 9–18 advance through these levels as they master new mechanical competencies, gaining both technical expertise and the pride of earning an apron that displays their hard-earned skills.

We remain committed to keeping our community riding safely through 'Open Shop,' a dedicated space where youth participants and program managers apply their mechanical skills to teach neighbors how to maintain and repair their own bicycles.

Beyond the shop walls, Blackstone Bicycle Works advocates for safer pedestrian and cycling infrastructure through its active role on the Governor’s Zero Traffic Fatalities Task Force.

People gathered in a bike shop, some sitting and some standing, while a man prepares a bicycle. The shop has exposed brick walls and displays rows of bicycle tires and repairs. Large windows provide natural light.

Blackstone Bicycle Works’ today

Today, Blackstone Bicycle Works offers diverse youth programming—including in-school bicycle and traffic safety lessons, after-school programs, seasonal camps, and a Cyclocross Race Team—none of which would be possible without our community.

We are powered by the volunteers who mentor our youth, the neighbors who donate bikes, and the parents who partner with us to support their children’s growth. Together, we are building a foundation of confidence and responsibility on two wheels, where every shared effort builds a culture of cycling and belonging that extends far beyond our shop walls

A group of people with bicycles under a bridge with a colorful mural on the wall behind them, in an outdoor urban setting with trees and a blue sky with clouds.

We are deeply grateful to our past and present program managers, whose leadership and care have shaped generations of young mechanics, and to the youth and families who have called Blackstone Bicycle Works home.

For two decades, Blackstone Bicycle Works has been more than a bike workshop; it’s been a community in motion. Here’s to the next 20 years of impact!