Fun has been cancelled this year in the City of North Vancouver.
Specifically, Fun City Festival, an event centred on a four-block-long waterslide down Lonsdale Avenue which was slated for July 13 and 14, will not take place this year due to the third-party waterslide provider not being able to fulfil their commitment, the city announced today.
“We know it’s really disappointing for the community,” said city spokeswoman Stephanie Smiley. “It’s disappointing for everybody here at the city too. We’ve had so much success. It’s been four years, and we were really looking forward to hosting it again this year.”
Sliders who already purchased tickets for the event will receive refunds from the slide company, Fun City Sliders, which will be doled out over the next seven to 10 days, said Smiley, adding that the refunds will be provided automatically so sliders do not need to apply for them.
A note on the Fun City Sliders website stated that the “high cost of delivering the event meant that it was not feasible to proceed.”
“As far as I understand it was a business decision,” said Smiley. “They didn’t sell as many tickets as they were hoping to, and so they have had to cancel the event because of that. … It’s dependent on the waterslide provider, and the operator made the decision that they just couldn’t pull it off this year.”
With the waterslide hung out to dry, the decision was made to scrap the entire Fun City Festival, which was to be a smaller affair this year than previous festivals with only a few food trucks accompanying the slide, said Smiley.
There likely won’t be a giant waterslide running down Lonsdale again anytime soon, as Fun City Sliders had already indicated to the city that this would be their last year providing the service, said Smiley, adding that there are no other operators who currently provide similar attractions.
“It’s a really niche market,” she said.
Smiley was quick to add that there will still be fun available in the city this summer, including a large festival scheduled for the week after Fun City Festival was set to occur. On Saturday, July 20, the city will hold the grand opening of Shipyard Commons, the revamped waterfront space formerly known by the less-fun moniker Lot 5. There won’t be a giant slide at the Shipyards grand opening, but there will be opportunities to get wet, said Smiley.
“There’s water involved there too!" she said. "There’s a water feature and a spray park.”
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