With their naked wave pool and waterslide party planned for this Sunday now cancelled, Calgary Nude Recreation is going back to the drawing board, looking for a way to enjoy nude activities in the city.
The city cancelled the family-friendly, all-ages event, which was booked at the Southland Leisure Centre, on Thursday, citing security concerns and volatile public commentary.
Calgary police confirmed they’d investigated a reported threat in relation to the nude swim, but found no immediate danger.
The event, which was posted on the group’s Facebook page, sparked widespread reaction, both from supporters and opponents of the nude swim. Two petitions circulated, one calling for a stop or change to the event, and another calling for a stop to the first petition, gaining thousands of signatures within days.
“This group is definitely different in that the intent was to fly, at least a little bit, over the radar,” organizer Naked Jeff said in an interview with CHQR 770 on Friday.
“We weren’t really aiming for this high over the radar, but that’s where we ended up.”
Jeff said he and the group were surprised by the amount of outrage the event has caused.
“Nude events happen all over North America – in the United States and Canada – and I can’t speak for all of them, but the majority of them are definitely family-friendly, all-ages events,” he said.
He chalked the concerns up to societal attitudes and stereotypes, adding some parents like to bring their children to events like this to encourage positive body image at a young age.
“Everybody’s got this fear: Oh my gosh. What happens if I get seen naked?’ Everybody has this fear. What if everybody just says: ‘Who cares it’s a body,’” he said.
“Nobody cares if someone sees your hands or your face or your feet. Why does it matter if they see any other parts of your body?
“Most nudity that people are exposed to — you know, in movies or whatever — is sexual in nature… So most people can’t really segregate that nudity can be sexual or non-sexual, they just lump it all into one category.”
Jeff said the group was confident its registration process and security measures would have weeded out any potential sexual predators, adding the names of all attendees would have been documented.
He said the city has been cooperative with the group through the entire process, and initially was on board with the naturist event.
As for what happens next, Jeff said the group is “not exactly sure,” but it hadn’t ruled out legal action.
“The unfortunate thing is that the city is the gate-keeper to this. They did cancel the event, so, unfortunately, any legal action that happens is against them,” he said.
“I think they should have used whatever police force required to allow this event to go on.”
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Calgary Nude Recreation is planning other future naturist events, including naked hiking and swimming in the Banff area when the weather warms up, and it is committed to hosting a nude pool party in Calgary.
“It is definitely not over,” Jeff said. “We will definitely be having an event eventually.” Jeff said.
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