Stamford Gets Wet As Slide The City Comes To Town

STAMFORD, Conn. - Slide the City brought its traveling water show to Stamford on Sunday, and crowds turned out to take a turn - or several turns - down a long water slide on Prospect Street.

Slide the City, July 26, Stamford, Connecticut

Photo Credit: Skip Pearlman

Big crowds turn out to Slide the City on Sunday in Stamford.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Big crowds jam the slides.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

People ride tubes on the slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Baseball manager Bobby Valentine (left), Downtown Special Services District President Sandy Goldstein and Mayor David Martin at the start of Sunday's event.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Former Mets Manager Bobby Valentine gets a little help at the start, while wearing a Go Pro video camera.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Stamford Downtown President Sandy Goldstein negotiates the giant water slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Riders of all ages fill the slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Sliders get started on the 1,000-foot slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Every rider hits the slide on a tube.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

A girl gets back on her float after falling off.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Kids are thrilled by the giant slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Stamford Mayor David Martin shoots with a Go Pro as he slides.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Riders lineup for a turn on the giant slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Crowds can't wait for another turn down the slide which is longer than three football fields.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Looking up at the giant water slide from near the finish line.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Many brought their own floats - or in this case an inflatable shark.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

A family waits in line to slide.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Sliders sign in at the event registration table.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

A boy tries his hand at one of the many children's activities set up.
Photo Credit: *Skip Pearlman*

Skip Pearlman

07/27/2015 6:00 a.m.

The 1,000-foot-long water slide — longer than three football fields — took riders from Hoyt Street to Latham Park.

Sliders were able to choose between a single slide, a triple slider, or an all-day pass to cruise down the three-lane slide. Tickets ranged from $18 to $55.

Sandy Goldstein, president of the Stamford Downtown Special Services District, was happy to see the day get off to a good start. The weather cooperated, and more and more people were sliding after a delayed start.

This was the first time Stamford hosted the event.

Sliders — including Mayor David Martin, baseball manager Bobby Valentine, and Goldstein, who took the day's first slide — got off to a slow start, with not enough water filling the huge three-lane slide. But as the day went on, sliders seemed to have an easier time.

"Having just gone down the slide, I think it's awesome," Goldstein told the Daily Voice. "What a great day, and what a great event. ... There are hundreds here already, and we're expecting thousands before the end of the day.

"The slide was really very exciting. There were some dry patches, because we were the first ones down. But when the water was rushing down, it really was fun."

The festive atmosphere — with several blocks closed for the slide, as well as volleyball, a climbing wall, and children's activities set up all over — is just what Goldstein and the DSSD likes.

"That's what we want people to think of when they think of downtown - fun, sculptures all over, excitement all over - that's why we're doing this," she said. "I see a lot of smiling faces, and at 7 p.m., I hope to say the day was a 100 percent success."

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