Urban Butter Showcase hits Granville Street

I just heard about the Urban Butter Showcase on Friday the 11th. I'm not sure whether I've been living under a rock, or maybe you have to be part of the park and pipe scene, or maybe the event just wasn't marketed well enough to reach me more than a day in advance. Regardless, I thought I'd go check it out with a couple of people before my indoor soccer game on Saturday night.

Essentially what this showcase brought to Granville Street in downtown Halifax was an artificial hill, covered in snow much of it natural but I also heard they had to truck some in from Martock as well. Add to it a simulated urban environment with a small lip that approached three different types of rails for snowboarders and park skiers to launch off and hit. For those not sure where Granville Street is, it is located just up from the harbour in a strip well-known for it's cobblestone surface and bars on its sides like the Split Crow, Peddler's, and Boston Pizza. I wasn't sure what to expect when I got down there but was relatively impressed with the attempt to entertain well over 1000 spectators with bright lights, music, an MC, and some excellent riders pleasing the crowd. Granville street is pretty narrow however and the spectating area was really crowded making it very difficult to get a good view of the proceedings without people cutting in front of you or just getting in the way. I did manage to find a decent little spot in front of the run although it was pretty far back for my digital camera to get great pics but I'll post a few of them anyway.

Above in the third video is John Emberly, a teaching colleague of mine at the showcase hitting the middle rail. It was definitely an entertaining event with some excellent riders and skiers but with it were a number of not so great performances as well. I did see a number of riders bail before they hit the jump and then a bunch who probably should have bailed before hitting the rails and having a yard sale at the bottom of the run. Was it successful? I'm sure it was. Could it be more successful? Absolutely. Better advertising...a little more thought for spectators...but other than that...it was a good time.