The History of Move-A-Bull City
Move-A-Bull City is Durham’s biggest open streets event, held each October by Bike Durham.
For one day, 1.2 miles of downtown Durham close to cars and open to people, running from the Ellerbe Creek Trail to the American Tobacco Trail.
It’s free and open to everyone, drawing thousands of neighbors to walk, bike, roll, and gather in streets normally full of traffic. Its roots reach back to 2014.
Photo Credit: Sean Kornegay
When did Move-A-Bull City start?
It started in 2014 as Bike-a-Bull City, a Bike Durham event held at Bull McCabe’s. Board member Chris Russo gave it the name, a play on Durham’s Bull City nickname and a bikeable city.
In those early years it was a celebration more than an open streets event, and it moved around town: Ciderworks in 2015, Ponysaurus in 2016, Durty Bull in 2017, and the Scrap Exchange in 2019.
The format was loose and social, the kind of event where you could bring the whole family and meet other people who got around Durham on two wheels.
Why Call it Move-A-Bull City?
In 2021, Bike-a-Bull City became Move-A-Bull City. The new name reflected a bigger idea. Bike Durham’s mission had always been wider than biking, taking in walking and transit too, and the event grew to match.
That first Move-A-Bull City, held at the Scrap Exchange, drew more than a hundred people for a morning family bike ride, a “heavy haulers” trailer obstacle course, a food truck, and visits from the local transit agency and Spin.
It felt a lot like the Bull City Bike Stampede. Small, fun, and clearly on its way to becoming something bigger.
Photo Credit: Sean Kornegay
What Does “open streets” mean? what Is ciclovía?
Open streets is a simple idea with a long history. You close a road to cars and open it to people, who walk, bike, roll, and gather in a space normally reserved for traffic.
The model traces back to the ciclovía in Bogotá, Colombia, where tens of miles of streets close to cars every Sunday so the city can move at human speed.
Move-A-Bull City is Durham’s embodiment of that global movement. Once a year, downtown becomes a place built for people instead of cars.
It happens once a year for now, but the vision behind it is the one ciclovía proved decades ago: that streets can belong to everyone, and that a city feels different when they do.
What’s With The Long Street Closure?
The idea was born at the 2024 event, in a conversation between Bike Durham’s John Tallmadge and Kyle Sullivan: what if Move-A-Bull City closed downtown streets, connecting the Ellerbe Creek Trail to the American Tobacco Trail? A year later, they made it real.
In 2025, Bike Durham moved the event out of a single venue and into the streets. It closed 1.2 miles of Blackwell, Corcoran, and Foster to cars, from the Ellerbe to the ATT. The day drew about 1,500 people across seven themed zones, with coverage from CBS 17. A bike party at a brewery had become the largest street closure event in downtown Durham.
It took a wide coalition. Bike Durham led the event, with Kyle Sullivan organizing, and co-hosted with the City of Durham Transportation Department, the Durham County Department of Public Health, and Partnership for a Healthy Durham.
Key partners shaping the 2025 and 2026 events included Lauren Grove, City of Durham Vision Zero Coordinator; Tricia Smar of the Duke University Hospital trauma center; Shannon Jackson, Safe Kids Durham coordinator; Javonna Rozario, MPH, of the Durham County Department of Public Health; and Liv Gladlin, Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Food Access Specialist.
Photo Credit: Alicia Smith | Pictured: Javonna and Liv from Durham County Department of Public Health.
What Are Those Cartoon bulls?
If you’ve seen Move-A-Bull City’s maps and posters, you’ve met the bulls, a cast of cartoon characters biking, rolling, scooting, and skating across downtown.
They’re the work of Durham artist K.L. Graywill, known to many as Kelsey. Over about three and a half years at Bike Durham, she grew from a bike safety educator in the public schools into the organization’s first in-house designer, and she created the original bull mascots along with the hand-drawn event maps from 2023, 2024, and 2025.
The bulls gave the event its personality through these years, a nod to Durham’s Bull City nickname and a reminder that getting around can be joyful.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Kelsey Graywill
What’s Next?
In 2026, Development Manager Kyle Sullivan took full ownership of the event, working alongside the partner team to grow it further.
Discover Durham joined as a partner, creating event passports that sent attendees across all of the day’s zones.
Each year the event gets a little bigger, and the idea underneath it stays the same: downtown streets, open to people.
Quick Facts
Is Move-A-Bull City free? Yes. It’s free and open to everyone.
When is it? It’s an annual event held in the fall in downtown Durham. Follow @moveabullcity on Instagram, or sign up for our email list to stay in touch.
Who runs it? Bike Durham, with the City of Durham, the Durham County Department of Public Health, and Partnership for a Healthy Durham.
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