It’s one of the most famous signs in Vancouver, but vandals apparently haven’t taken the message of “Dude Chilling Park” to heart.
“We have to mellow,” frequent park user Deirdre Pinnock told CTV News on Wednesday after the famous sign had been vandalized for the second time this year.
On this occasion, someone crossed out the word “dude” in the sign and replaced it with “girl.” Last month, a vandal crossed out the entire phrase and replaced it with the park’s official name: “Guelph Park.”
A local artist surreptitiously installed the Dude Chilling Park sign in Guelph Park in 2012. The Vancouver Park Board initially took it down, but eventually put it back up as a public art installation after a public outcry over its removal.
The sign was designed to poke fun at another public art piece in Guelph Park: “Reclining Figure” by Michael Dennis, which looks like someone lounging on the grass.
For Pinnock, the park’s unofficial name is also a reflection of its purpose and the community it serves.
“It really is a chilling park,” she said.
Residents of the neighbourhood walk their dogs in the park every morning and have parties there at night, Pinnock said. There’s also an art exchange for local children. Non-chill actions like defacing the sign go against the park’s community spirit, she said.
“Everybody comes together in the park,” Pinnock said. “This isn’t what we’re about. We’re about, you know, a neighbourhood. A really cool neighbourhood. A chilling neighbourhood.”
The park board sent workers to clean up the vandalism on Wednesday. Last month's incident was also cleaned up within a day.
