Car Free (but crowd free)

The honourable Larry Campbell appeared and did the gracious honours to open Van city's first Car Free Day festival. In his speech Larry himself professed that he drives a hybrid car! That's good, Larry, but not exactly "Car Free," is it? He also reportedly said, "If I can do it, anyone can do it." You mean that anyone can drive a thirty grand price tag? Hmm, maybe Larry's been spending too much time in Yaletown. Um, that's just my rant. On with the review.

Car Free Day was indeed car free (except for a lovely relic filled with soil and flowers). The city essentially shut down the entirety of Gastown, making the way for booths, BMX ramps, a music stage, and a big stretch of pavement for the brave and skilled to try riding Pedal Play'a crazy bike creations. Everything was there, but the event was not attended as well as it could have been. The set up looked like they expected another thousand or so people to arrive, which would have added to the atmosphere. Maybe someone needed to poster the city, though that's not the Van government style (The event was put on by One Day Vancouver, a city initiative). Maybe people weren't able to ditch work or get bikes from out of town into downtown. Car Free Day is set up like a family event, but it'll take some work before all the families will bike together through the busy downtown core to get to Gastown. It's a midsized trek, and also a bit dangerous out there for little two wheelin' kiddies, people. The buses on Granville might squeeze them into a mailbox or into a handicapped pedestrian.

The main attractions at the fest were the main stage, where I had the good luck to catch Sparrow, a Yo La Tengo-y six piece, complete with two violins and a horn, who cranked out some of the loveliest pop music I've heard in this city in a long time. Sparrow alone made the trip worthwhile for anyone who had the luck to hear them. On the whole, the musical line up was impressive for a free festival event, harnessing a variety of quality local sounds. Not that I heard many others, since I got wrapped up gawking at the BMXers on the ramp at the other side of the festival doing flips and 360s and making it look disturbingly easy. I also got roped into pedalling for 20 minutes on a stationary bike to power the DJ speaker system.

Anyhow. The festival was a good event and one that we should hope will continue and grow. This city needs this kind of thing, as well as more people to slip into a car free consciousness. Come out next year, folks. 'Cause really a few more people was about all that was needed to make this event a smash. The attractions were good, the music happening, and the people who were there looked pretty happy to be reclaiming the streets for pedestrians and bikes, and to just be a part of everything.