The Gumboot would like thank the Globe and Mail for capturing this story. It’s a neat sort of community that enjoys flash mobbing. In fact the Gumboot’s own friends Yuki and Phil apparently participated in this flash mob!
Some Happy Tourists get Olympic...with lightning eagles, which, as we know, are native to the West Coast
It started with a text message…led into a weird/uncomfortable appreciation of Gordon Campbell and the 2010 Olympics…and then I did a triple axle! So, let me explain the whole story of the public ice skating rink at Robson Square in Vancouver and an odd group of friends and family who got to partake in a Canadian past-time fairly unfamiliar to those of us on the West Coast.
Here’s the thing about having cool friends. Sometimes, they send you a text message suggesting activities that you would never think of. Things like ice skating outside in Vancouver. On this special day (Sunday, December 13), our group itself was a pretty unique little community. My mom was in town for a quick weekend visit. My Special Lady Fiance, Michelle, was finished school and actually had time for things other than studying on the weekend. And Captain of the Estronauts (and soon-to-be-Gumboot-Correspondent), Stephanie Bowen, is now a full-time member of Vancouver Team. The first ingredient of a fun afternoon was that we had an eclectic and superawesome team in place.
And then there’s the Robson Square Skating Rink. Located in a giant hole right next to the Vancouver Art Gallery, it’s, quite literally, open to everyone who can skate – and even some who can’t. For example, you will be rented a “cleat” if you struggle putting blades to ice. Speaking of renting, skates only cost you $3 – helmets can be rented for $2 (I know this because my mom, quite wary of the fact that I haven’t skated in nearly 10 years, offered to rent me one). Oh, and if you own skates you can circle the ice free of charge.
What a great way to embrace community!
Sure, the popularity of the rink just being open made things incredibly crowded. I mean, people from all over the Lower Mainland were there. Senior citizens wearing trench coats and Bogart-esque chapeaus. Young couples on first dates. Fighting couples on last dates. Singles circling whilst puttin’ out the vibe. Hot skaters showing off their wicked skills. Wee munchkins clinging to their parents’ legs, other staggering behind “cleats.” Inspired by the dozens upon dozens of snowsuit-wearing children, the young women in our eclectic group felt some warm pangs from their biological clocks, too. And who can blame them? Babies in snowsuits are pretty frickin’ cute. Like I said, everyone was there. Needless to say, this made things slightly sketchy for yours truly, someone who skates not unlike a newborn horse or deer…that is trying to skate. A product of the Saskatchewan ice fields I am not. And there were quite a few folks not unlike myself. My mom even got clocked in the face by a flailing young lady (mind you, this happened because she wasn’t paying attention when the “Skating Attendants” told everyone to switch directions) – don’t worry, “the real Pete,” she was okay!
It felt great exercising muscles – skating muscles – that I never use. Everyone there, I must say, were in pretty great moods, which meant great side conversations during our trips around the ice. And when Stephanie got her picture taken with my mom (first time they met, just to remind you) and Santa (for the record, this was the third time Steph met Santa), well, it was a beautiful thing.
Did I do a triple-axle? Maybe I did. And maybe it was truly awesome. Or perhaps I pulled off something a little more low-key and casual. Nonchalant, even. Like holding hands and going in a circle. I did deliver on some solid C-Level ice skating, great conversations, risk-taking, people watching, and helping others overcome unintentional physical violence; it all made for a pretty spectacular afternoon of community exploration.
Ice skating at Robson Square also did much to reflect British Columbia’s catchy and “street” new slogan: you gotta be here. And it’s posted in no fewer than 7,892 places around the rink. Vancouver, you’ve come one facility closer to joining the likes of New York City as a world class, cosmopolitan location! Only a subway line or two, a real financial district and a few more sports franchises and we’ll be there!
When it comes to skating, you just gotta. Have fun with it!
- JCH
Granville Street Redesign
When this website was but a nascent blog, I lamented Vancouver’s lack of a public square. A year later, as condo towers continue to spring up all around us, and the pressure to expand transportation infrastructure remains unabated, the need to carve out and protect public spaces is more necessary than ever. Through the course of its development, Vancouver seems to have missed out on some great opportunities create public spaces. Downtown building density makes it difficult to congregate before and after concerts and films. Outside our stadiums, celebrating a sports victory takes place along the sidewalks of Yaletown or in areas adjacent to glassy towers. Robson square, while great from a design standpoint (Kudos Arthur Erikson), fails as a public gathering site, in my view. Its basement-like quality leaves it ignored and under-used. Why go there, when the sunlit steps of the VAG beckon above?
It’s not all bad – Vancouver does hold plenty examples of embracing public space in all kinds of creative ways. We just need to do more.
For example, the Olympics have helped turn things around. The task of “hosting the world” in 136 days (and counting), has pumped creativity and dollars in dusting off two of our most important public spaces:
On a less glitzy but no less important scale, grassroots efforts at promoting all kinds of varied public space deserve a place in the spotlight as well.As described in a recent post, entitled Getting to know your Community Art, Kurt Heinrich describes how the Commercial Drive community is using its walls as a backdrop for wonderful community art. I also love how, in neighbourhoods across the city, busy residents take part in creative gardening and often artistic gardening, transforming traffic intersection into sites of public, green pride.
The advocacy effort for Vancouver public spaces received a huge boost last Tuesday with the exciting launch of PubliCity, a newly minted magazine put out by theVancouver Public Space Network (VPSN)The VPSN is a grassroots collective that engages in advocacy, outreach and education on public space issues in and around Vancouver. Efforts include combating advertising ‘creep’ in public spaces, promoting creative, community friendly urban design, monitoring private security activities downtown and looking at ways to re-green forgotten spaces and alleys of the city. PubliCity will provide a great vehicle for creating awareness of these issues and inspiring democratic debate about how best to promote, create and use public space in all its forms.
It goes without saying, that without public space, community can and will not flourish.