WATCH: When it was suggested last year that “Slide the City” would come to Vancouver, there was much excitement, but city officials have quickly put the kibosh on the event. Nadia Stewart reports.
Have you heard the story of a giant slip-and-slide coming to a city near you?
A group called Slide the City has promised that a slip-and-slide the length of three football fields is “coming soon” to Vancouver for several months, along with dozens and dozens of other cities across North America.
In Vancouver’s case at least, the promise is purely speculative. According to the City of Vancouver, not only has the group not gotten the required permissions to host such an event, they haven’t even contacted the city.
“The City’s Film and Special Events Branch hasn’t been approached by the organizers with a proposal. However, at this time, the City would not support such an event due to safety considerations,” said a city spokesperson in a statement.
But the lure of a street-wide water festival is so alluring that a local group, Slide the Main, wants to resurrect the idea on Main Street as part of Car Free Day on June 14. It would go between West 16th and 14th street, and much like Slide the City, it’s creating plenty of buzz.
“Let the city know we want to slide and get ready to bring your floaties, your costumes and your rubber duckies. Slide the Main will be Mount Pleasant’s first water slide bringing together the community for a day of awesomeness under the sun. This will be a community effort, made BY the people FOR the people!” reads a statement on their website.
However, the same obstacles remain. Car Free Day organizer Matthew Carrico says they haven’t been contacted by the group yet, and there’s plenty to examine if they do.
“We’ll be really focused on the logistics on it, the safety, whether or not it can be properly insured,” he said.
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