Saskatoon Park(ing) Day 2013

Park(ing) Day in Saskatoon has become an epic celebration of local music: Review

Idea for next year: A goat petting parklet for Park(ing) Day

The morning began with a trip to the local gas station for a bag of ice and a breakfast doughnut. An hour later the keg of Paddockwood 606 was tapped and being distributed into paper cups supplied by Collective Coffee.

Park(ing) Day had officially begun.

An annual worldwide event where designers, citizens, and businesses transform metered parking spots into temporary public parks, Park(ing) Day has similarly transformed into a festival that takes on it’s own local urban identity. Situated on 20th Street between Avenue B and Avenue E, the street has a sense of vibrancy contributed from those who live in the neighbourhood mingling with those latecomers who are attracted to the recent Riversdale business boom.

Also, a whole lot of bands played.

The day wasn’t all auspiciousness and secret booze though – the stage crew had to shimmy up a makeshift power source from a nearby building, delaying the main stage music. More coffee cup wizardry for the rest of us, I suppose. But when the bands finally took to the stage it was a thing of magic.

It was also a thing of food trucks, tiny houses, bike valet and Astroturf yoga.

Ominocity would like to issue a hearty hug ‘n’ handshake to all the musicians who gathered to make Park(ing) Day a success, along with the volunteers, the sound crew, the sponsors and everyone else who pitched in.

One quick suggestion for next year: Apparently a Park(ing) Day event in America had a goat petting parklet. Can someone in Saskatoon make this happen next year?

— Words by Chris Morin, photos and video by Ryan Smith