Other Lower Mainland municipalities looked on with jealousy at all the fun we were having over here on Saturday.
By almost all accounts, the Slide the City event with its 1,000-foot (300-metre) water slide was a smash.
If it’s any comfort to the naysayers, the water was legally acquired from a bottled water company in Abbotsford and “a portion” of it was to be recycled to water local plants. That said, we’re pretty unimpressed that Slide the City organizers slipped out of town without taking questions as to where the water was coming from, how much was being used and how much was being salvaged.
With this being the summer of watering restrictions, drought shaming and forest fires, the optics weren’t great. People only want to talk about the fun parts, it seems.
Organizers also could have been a little more upfront with their 6,000 ticket buyers, many of whom said they didn’t have enough time to get their rides in, thanks to the lineup.
But, all told, we’ll raise a glass of recycled water to the event and look forward to it coming back next year with a few lessons learned.
It was a powerful way to reclaim public space, celebrate with our neighbours and have some good, clean fun. This, after the City of Vancouver rejected the slide over safety concerns.
Clearly, their loss was our gain.
Similarly, we look forward to the Car Free Day festival growing into an annual must-visit event, especially as the foot of Lonsdale and the Shipyards come into their own. Kudos are owed to its organizers and volunteers.
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