Saturday August 1st 2015 my sister and I hit the Slide the City event. My wife Natalie and our seven week old son Charles came as well but they just sat on the side and watched. The slide was 1000 feet of slick vinyl. That's over three football fields and almost three city blocks! It's right on the asphalt, padded up, and watered down. It was held just east of Riley park on 10th street NW just above 8th ave NW.
The slide started at the yellow dot and ran until the purple dot.
Natalie and Charlie hiding under the blanket.
We ended up buying tickets after it already sold out via Kijiji and we paid a bit more than ticket price, but it was sooo worth it. We got the VIP unlimited slide package that had us ride from 4pm to 10pm. The package came with a swag (Stuff We All Get) bag that included a hat (the one Natalie is wearing in the picture), slider tube, tote bag, tattoo, mouthguard, and t-shirt.
The weather was PERFECT! It was about 25°C and a clear sky. We arrived at 4pm and got Natty situated in a great spot to watch but still able to remain in the shade, then Kristel and I headed up the hill. The first slide we waited one whole hour in line. While you are in line they have a volunteer that goes through the line up with a big pail of water and if you aren't paying attention, she douses you with it. It was pretty funny to watch and she got some unsuspecting suckers pretty good.
When we finally got to the start of the slide, there was a dude with a water hose that sprayed everyone before they rode. It was VERY cold, but refreshing on such a hot day. We started off and I was wearing flip flops — bad idea. Immediately they popped off. You can see in the video below me trying to grab them and hold on to them as soon as we went. Right away you pick up speed. And fast! There were three lanes. The far left and far right lanes were about five feet wide and for single file slides. The middle lane was really wide and for group slides but gave the best run. The slide only lasts a few minutes but was such a rush! You get great speed and spin like crazy. I was actually really surprised at the speed you can get if you streamline.
After the slide, you head back up the hill and get back in line. The second run, the wait took us half an hour, then every run after that the wait was only 15 minutes. My sis and I got a good five runs in but it started to cool off a little, the mosquitos started to come out, and we were getting hungry so we took off and got some Chicken on the Way. Oh yeah.
I watched a few videos from other cities and heard a lot of negative feedback before I went to the event so I was a little skeptical, but I must say that it was well worth the cash and a lot of fun! If they come back or are in your city... I highly recommend it for a great fun filled day. Enjoy the video below of our first and fourth run.
Totally tubular!