Slide the City helps people coast through the summer heat

In winter, sliding down the street usually ends in a car wreck. In July, however, it might end up being the most entertaining three blocks of the year. Slide the City returns to Oklahoma City for a July 30 event with a big slide, lots of water and blocks of padded plastic that send participants careening down the street.

Started in 2014, Slide the City is a simple concept that travels well. Organizers said the event visits more than 100 cities this year. Last year, Slide the City hit more than 70 venues around the world, including an OKC stop last July, where local resident Cacky Poarch, her kids and about 3,000 others took the plunge.

“I went with my son, but my daughter also went with a birthday party of teenagers,” she said. “I had heard about it from other cities, so when tickets went on sale, I got them.”

Her daughter Parker said the lines got pretty long, but she remembers thinking the slide was enough fun that it was worth the wait.

Michael Kimball said he and his wife enjoyed it, especially with it being so close to home.

“We live down here in the [city’s] core. We got the three rides tickets and took our bikes over,” he said. “The line can be pretty long, but it moves quickly,” he said. “The line goes right past where everybody is sliding, so you get to watch other people crashing into each other.”

His advice for going with a significant other is to let them go first so you can go faster and ram them from behind.

“My wife didn’t really appreciate that,” he said.

Still, it’s an interesting way to see your hometown, he said.

“It’s something different, something you wouldn’t ordinarily get to do in the middle of the city,” he said.

The entrance to Slide the City is 911 N. Shartel Ave., and it extends south to NW Fifth Street.

Tickets come in three levels: single slider, triple slider and all-day slider. The first two include a slide time, either 9 a.m.-2 p.m. or 2-7 p.m. Tickets prices increase as the event nears with a day-of single slide pass for $20 and a triple slide pass for $45. An all-day pass includes unlimited trips for $99. A Gazette code saves guests 20 percent on a triple slider pass if they use the code “okgazette” at slidethecity.com/location/oklahoma-city.

Slide the City is a for-profit company, but it does donate a portion of proceeds to local charities. Last year, the event raised money for United Cerebral Palsy of Oklahoma. This year’s recipient is Muscular Dystrophy Association of Oklahoma City.

Each ticket includes a mouthguard and a drawstring bag, but triple sliders and all-day sliders also get an inflatable tube, which is required to go down the slide. All-day sliders also get a hat and a T-shirt.

However, it takes more than just a ticket to ride. Participants must be age 5 or older and at least 46 inches tall.

But even those who can’t or don’t want to slide can find something to do, because Slide the City transforms three blocks of Shartel Avenue into a big block party.

“This unique event was a huge success last year, but for 2016, we are going to be adding some fun entertainment to give it more of a community feel,” Slide the City co-owner John Malfatto said in a press release.

Food trucks, live music, street entertainers and local vendors also will be on-site.

Print headline: Slippery slope, Slide the City returns to Oklahoma City for another wet ride down Shartel Avenue.

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