Yellowknife, NWT – If you’re looking for a parking space in Yellowknife on Friday, be careful. You may run into a zombie.
Parking Day is taking over a stretch of 15 metered spaces, including some on the city’s 49th Street – from Franklin Avenue to 49th Avenue – as well as two stalls in front of the Northern Images store.
The worldwide initiative sees spaces in cities given over to performance art instead of parking, but it comes at a time when many Yellowknifers feel frustrated in their attempts to park downtown.
“We’re going to transform some of the parking spots into community spaces – art exhibits and really funny little shows,” said Rosalie Davreux, from the Association Franco-Culturelle de Yellowknife.
“It’s just going to happen one day a year. I know some people are afraid because there aren’t enough parking spots in Yellowknife, but it’s only going to be one day.”
Davreux says spaces will be put to a wide range of uses between the hours of 11am and 7pm.
“I know some people want to do a zombie tea party and others want to do a living room with a couch and a TV. But I don’t want to say too much – we want to keep some surprises,” she told Moose FM.
Sandra Nielsen, the city’s special events coordinator, acknowledged that parking could be a sensitive subject for some.
Nielsen said: “I think parking’s a fairly large issue in this city and it’s not for us to say we want to take away parking spots, but just to rethink the emphasis put on vehicles, the spaces allotted to them and the lack of public spaces in cities.”
Other cities have seen spaces host some remarkable activities in previous Parking Days, added Nielsen.
“It’ll be up to you to see what the artistic community of Yellowknife puts together to transform these spaces, but there are reports of people getting married in a parking space.
“That wouldn’t be my first choice.”
Pictured: Parking Day in Vancouver last year, via the Vancouver Public Space Network on Flickr.
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