A friend who visited Montreal recently commented on the number of outdoor ping-pong tables there when he came back. Out of idle curiosity, I asked on Twitter if there were any in the Lower Mainland.
The answers I got made me realize that, yes, there were some scattered around but, more fun, there seemed to be a lot more on the way.
Researching this (which included driving around to various new parks and tables) made me realize how much parks are changing — not just big empty fields with a tennis court on one side and a slide on the other. The Slidey-Slide Park next to the roller coaster is filled with different kinds of activities. (Also made me realize a lot of other cities hopped on the outdoor ping-pong thing quite a while ago.)
In the meantime, here’s the story I wrote for the Globe on this little urban trend.