The Houston Bicycle Museum (HBM), which will be the first physical museum of its kind in Texas, is launching its new not-for-profit venture in Houston on Sunday, November 13 with a fundraising event called, “It’s all about the bike…!”

Sunday’s free family event will occur from 1 to 5 p.m., at the Houston Garden Center in Hermann Park, 1500 Hermann Drive, Houston, TX 77004. The public is invited to attend.

Nearly 50 bikes from 13 local collections will be displayed – from antique two wheelers dating from the mid 1800s, to today’s superlight models used to set human-powered speed records. Knowledgeable docents will be available to answer questions and educate visitors about the machines that have influenced transportation, and fitness and leisure activities in our country for a century and a half.

Five-dollar ($5) raffle tickets will be sold for a chance to win a $500 gift certificate redeemable at a local retail bicycle shop. The drawing will occur after 4:30 p.m. at Sunday’s event, and the winner need not be present to win. Raffle tickets may be also purchased (three for $12) online at:  http://www.houstonbicyclemuseum.org/LightNEasy.php?page=giftcertificate

The board of directors and volunteers have organized this event to introduce the Houston Bicycle Museum to the city and raise support to build a distinctive exhibition and learning space on an available parcel of land in the Museum District.

Museum founder Joy Boone explains HBM’s mission: “Our goal is to provide a permanent space for viewing antique and classic bicycles and memorabilia. We want to bring the bicycle’s fascinating history to life by illustrating how developing technologies of each era have been used to create more and more efficient cycling machines.”