Something was different besides the fact that it was Father’s Day and I forgot to call my Dad. With my mind in a very numbed state from the weekend’s celebrations (it had finally become summer in Vancouver at this point in mid-June), I rolled around my ‘hood in cruiser board mode to feel the much missed rays.
Prior to this lazy Sunday, I had received a few emails about “Car-Free Vancouver Day” and sort of shrugged it off as one of those hippy ho-down bohemian Vancouver specials. Even though my mind was closed on this particular day for reasons other than being close-minded, I rolled up and realized that the usually traffic heavy Main Street strip between 12th and 16th was closed down—there was music, thousands of people milling about, and a mini ramp in the middle of the street. I looked up, and the nearby Chevron station had regular unleaded posted at a staggering $1.48 per litre. “Ditching the whip makes sense to me,” I self-mumbled before navigating across the traffic diverted and congested corner of 12th and Main to join the thousands of foot soldiers.
Car-Free Vancouver Day was founded in 2005 by Matt Hern and Carmen Mills, and began solely as the “Commercial Drive Festival.” Attendance quickly grew annually and the success led to it becoming a multi-destination Car-Free festival this year. An estimated 125,000 people attended the 20 simultaneous block parties in Kitsilano, as well as the Commercial Drive, Denman Street and Main Street events throughout the day.
“There were almost too many people at the original Commercial Drive festivals. So Matt [Hern] had the idea of spreading it around the city, with a subversive idea behind it to start closing major streets all over the city,” explains Main Street event organizer, Billy Collins. “We think we’re very progressive in Vancouver, but as far as ‘Car-Free’ goes, we’re way behind the curve. Places like London, New York, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen are way ahead of us in terms of bike and pedestrian priority over cars. In a lot of ways, we have a long way to go in Vancouver.”
The whole premise behind the events is to provide free non-corporate fun for the people on automobile-free streets around the city. The Main Street event went from 4 until 10pm and included two music stages, the ramp, a fire show, and Vancouver-made short films being projected outside at Happy Bats Cinema.
“It’s a hundred percent volunteer driven; it’s a non-profit organization, and all proceeds go back into building the event itself. Part of the fun is going to these festivals and witnessing the different feel each of these neighbourhoods has,” says Collins. “Commercial Drive has a lot of hippies and a very eclectic East end crowd. The character of Main is a lot of hipsters and young families. That’s why this event was really cool because it gives you a sense of place; how you perceive your community and how others perceive it.”
I high-fived my way up to 14th and Main where Sebastian Templer’s 5 foot high by 16 foot wide mini-ramp-for-rent was located, quickly realizing that the only time I ever stand in the middle of this section of Main, and only for a few seconds, is to cross the street to get a coffee at JJ Bean.
“A few months ago, I emailed Michelle [Pezel] at Antisocial with what we were trying to accomplish; she got back to me immediately and said: ‘I’m in.’ She called and mentioned she was bringing a ramp and I think the Mount Pleasant BIA (Business Improvement Association) gave her $200 to pay for costs associated with getting the ramp to the event,” Collins mentions.
Templer later adds, “Without that ramp, it would’ve been a whole different scene there. It was sick to have all the skaters out—a good skate vibe goin’ on.”
On my way home, my mind felt renewed and I looked up at the fluctuating and inflated gas prices again: $1.45 this time. My wallet thanked me for not owning a whip.