It wasn't what I would describe as huge. Two hundred people at most. It was an annoyingly loud party that didn't seem to have any point or focus. A lot of Stop Harper signs. A few guys in Guy Fawkes masks. A whole bunch of teenagers from the West Side. As a protest it had no demonstrable point, nor did it do anything to gain any kind of sympathy from the neighborhood. I saw people pissing on people's lawns. Not exactly a way to get local residents on board with the cause. At least with permits you gotta get a port-a-potty in there.

Was not there but the videos online showed a bunch of people under 25 not doing much. It was of zero consequence.

Well that "party" came and went like a fart in the breeze. A very unorganized group of kids showed up at the park, most of whom were not from the area. A few locals, a few "activists" and people walking by that were asking "what is this all about anyhow" are who made up this group of a few hundred. Hardly the thousands these organizers said were coming. Thank god. They got a drum circle going and those who just "had to dance" started dancing. Young kids from the suburbs relished in the fact they were on the drive and doing something "illegal, man." Then the huge sound system got going in the middle of the street run by a few kids dressed in black with their faces covered. Really? THIS is your cause? This is your great protest...against permits? They "marched" one block down and then returned. Their "fuck the permits, fuck the police" message was displayed on one banner. Wow guys, judging by that it really seems like your cause has taken off. There will be great change in no time. I'm sure all the residents you kept up til 1 am will champion your cause at city hall and make changes to the permitting structure. What an incredibly sad joke. And interestingly I haven't seen any of their "garbage and clean-up crew" anywhere... Get a life. Find a real cause and fight for that. And in the meantime, stop wasting our time and disturbing our lives and our park.

I am very impressed by Drive Locals ability to recognize who is and isn't from the neighbourhood. What an incredible photographic memory you must have.

I observed the event, and they marched from Grandview Park down to Franklin, stopping at various points along the way. It was a good, peaceful assembly.

Native Americans (people born in America) have freedom to hold parties, potlatches, call them what you will whenever they like. People from overseas who have been conditioned to slavery may not understand this, but, oh well!

And my estimate would be about 300 at the peak, tho the group divided into those who liked the carnival band type brass (was that them?) and those who liked the amplified dance music.

As to the washroom issue, that is really the fault of the Parks Board for not leaving the park washroom open past 10pm.

@Well...

s to the washroom issue, that is really the fault of the Parks Board for not leaving the park washroom open past 10pm.

Washrooms get locked at night - that's the deal with washrooms in parks, and there are some really solid reasons for that. But let's blame the city workers for doing their jobs because, well...

Perhaps they should not be locked. As a pragmatic solution to the washroom problem, it seems quite reasonable for the parks board to leave the washrooms open, if they know something like this is happening. Or the police should enforce the health regulation making it illegal to chargefor a washroom and requiring people with restaurants, etc. to allow the public to use their washrooms, even if they're not purchasing anything. It is a regulatory offense in BC to charge for washroom use, directly or indirectly, e.g. "washrooms are for customers only."

...so am I the only one to recognize that the VPD - seeing this event as something that requires "Intel" - send 100 officers for a ratio of 5:1. There was no way to adapt?

Great use of resources. Idiotic.

`Fuck the permits', indeed!! They are strictly a tool of the crypto-fascist state to keep its jackboots on the throats of the beleaguered working class. There is never any justification for ensuring, via the permit application process, that Fire Rescue, EHS, transit, and public works, have reliable advanced notice of what is, and is not closed and/or reduced, so they can adjust their own operations and activities accordingly. I mean, ensuring that a fire engine or advanced life support ambulance has rapid access to a given geographical area is such an obvious tool the Man uses to keep us down! Oppressors of the glorious revolutionary proletariat, all of them!
Attempt at Swiftian satire aside, maybe these people who are so deeply opposed to any facet of government, of law and order, of anything or anyone they view as spoiling their fun....maybe they ought to read Locke's a Second Treatise of Government and rethink their ideas. They chose to live in this city..maybe they could try and behave like citizens of it, rather than petulant, self centred Che Guevara wannabes. I for one am sick to death of people who are all about their own rights and nothing about responsibilities.

A childish demonstration of nothing.
The organizers need to be presented with the bill so they can continue on with the idea of growing the fuck up.