Bubbles, Bubbles, Bubbles

A couple of weekends ago, my friend and I went to Toronto to check out the closing ceremonies of Luminato, the arts and culture festival. It was a really great day at the Harbourfront, there were buskers, parades of people banging on drums, shopping, outdoor patios and bars, bands, art, ice cream, and sun. I considered that day my first official day of summer.

One part of the day stood out though: A giant bubble battle. I don't care how old you are, bubbles rule. The premise was, everybody gathered on a predetermined spot at 5 o'clock, and started blowing bubbles. People had bubble guns, bubble machines, giant bubble wands, hippos that blew bubbles out of their mouths, and old fashioned bubbles in the bottle, with the little wand. It was sunny out, and the sun reflected in the bubbles..it was quite a lovely sight.

I have more pictures, but most of them have children in them, and I really don't want to be a creepo who posts pictures of random children on their blog. But you get the general idea. Bubbles are cool! I wish St. Catharines would do something random like that sometimes...it would work well in Montebello I think. I don't know if people would actually come out to it in St. Catharines...but it would be cool! There were people of all ages there, and the kids were hilarious to watch. Dancing around in the bubbles. Such a summeresque activity.

Anyway, upon more investigation, I found out this bubble battle was put on by a group called New Mind Space http://www.newmindspace.com/ . The whole idea behind events like these, is the concept of an urban playground, and reclaiming urban public space. Subway parties, giant pillow fights, bubble battles, huge games of capture the flag...all just this really cool stuff that brings random people together, and lets them experience their city in a whole new way. It also kind of takes a person out of everyday city life, which is often quite....rigid. Normally, people don't talk to strangers, don't even really smile at them, but at events like these, you find yourself dancing in the bubbles they are blowing out of their bubble gun. Quite amazing really. I like the whole concept, and kind of makes me want to move to a big city so I can check out events like this more often.

I always am at work thinking....wouldn't it be great if at lunch time, there was somewhere to go everyday, or if not everyday, then maybe once a week....a Wednesday perhaps, to just go and dance for half an hour? 20 minutes? To one song? Just to kind of loosen up after sitting at a desk after what is often realllly long periods of time? I also always imagine the guy who plays the saxophone downtown all the time, starting a parade of dancers down the street. He's just walking...jamming to whatever song, and one by one people leave their offices and follow him and dance. They bring whatever they have to join in on the song, and soon it turns into a giant parade around downtown. And then afterwards, everyone would just go back to their offices and go about their business. Perhaps I have thought about this a leeetle too much, but it would be pretty freaking fun. Also, in my mind, the sax guy is playing Todd Rundgren's, "Bang the Drum All Day" song. Ah. That would be the best parade ever.