BARTy Party Coming To Orinda BART Station

LAMORINDA, CA — BART is hosting a fun event Saturday at the Orinda parking lot.

It is a BARTy Party, a free event celebrating the BARTmobile's 20th birthday, and it runs from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 27.

"We will have free rides in the BARTmobile, carnival games, cupcakes and activities," said Alicia Trost, chief communications officer for BART.

"This event is part of our new engagement strategy to activate stations, plazas, and parking lots with memorable experiences to drive weekend ridership," Trost said. "If we get families to our stations we can show them all of the improvements we’ve made. New trains, cleaner stations, and mobile payment options."

Additional festivities at the BARTy part will include:

• Live DJ
• Railgoods.com pop-up shop (holiday merch cannot be preordered at the event, only online)
• Face painting + temporary tattoos
• Free cupcakes and kettle corn (we recommend eating lunch beforehand as no food will be sold)
• Free BARTy stickers
• Stamps for your BART Stamp Passport
• And more family-friendly activities!

A Bit Of BARTy History

What exactly is the BARTmobile? And how did it come to have such a hold on the hearts and minds of Bay Area residents? Jill Buschini, principal marketing representative at BART, has been the official "BARTmobile wrangler" for the past eight parade seasons, ensuring the mobile gets where it needs to go for its bevy of local engagements in major Bay Area parades and festivals.

"When the BARTmobile arrives anywhere, the attention it gets still astounds me. It's incredibly fun to see and be part of!” Buschini said. "Kids and adults— alike are transfixed by the small BART train with a face."

Buschini said even the Golden State Warriors, during their 2022 Warriors Championship Parade, pointed and cheered at the BARTmobile when it caught their eye along the parade route.

While a handful of crafty, ingenious folks collaborated to create the BARTmobile, one man is responsible for kicking things off: Doug Bartlett, a now-retired BART principal marketing representative (whose last name bore the four magic letters so it had to be fate).

In the early 2000s, Bartlett arranged for a series of BART appearances in local parades and happenings. At that time, the Buildings and Grounds department lent BART paradegoers a few logo-emblazoned trucks to walk beside.

"The vehicles were obviously gas-powered," Bartlett said. "It didn’t seem right. BART is electric!"

As a temporary solution, Bartlett began renting three-wheelers. They didn’t really have anything to do with BART, but they were electric, at least.

Read more here about the moment when a switch flipped in Bartlett’s mind and provided the inspiration for what would become BART's mascot, the BARTmobile.