I’m drenched. Just came back from Angrignon Park, where “Montreal’s Largest Water Fight” took over an area next to a lake and about 100-150 people with their $20 Chinese Super-Soaker knockoffs targetted each other with no mercy.

A few things to note:

• The turnout was far fewer than Facebook’s 980 “confirmed guests”. This was due to a number of reasons, chief among them I think being that many confirmed their attendance over a month ago and may have forgotten about it since then. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to make it enjoyable for everyone and keep it going for hours.
• Facebook is clearly getting more mainstream, and its events are getting media coverage:
  • TQS had a cameraman
  • CTV sent reportobabe Annie DeMelt (sadly, she came out of it bone dry). She spent the 30 minutes she was there mostly on the phone with her assignment editor (I’m always surprised by how much TV reporters spend taking on their cellphones while on location). She seemed a bit peeved that there weren’t more people, and that she couldn’t find the organizer. Sure enough, the report on the news focused on the attempt to break the world record, which was on nobody’s mind at the time.
  • The Gazette sent new crack reporter Amy Luft with photographer Tim Snow. Tim apparently got some excellent shots of me being showered with a hundred streams of water simultaneously. Hopefully my dear editors will have the sense to save me from the public humiliation. Look for the article in The Gazette next Saturday in Montreal Diary.
• Two people showed up about two hours into the fight with coolers and buckets. The buckets were filled with water balloons and the coolers with free cans of Guru. Apparently the unappetizing energy drink makers thought this would be a golden marketing opportunity. Everyone got some Guru, but I’m not sure if anyone’s going to buy any. (Side note: Apparently Guru 100% Natural Tangerine Energy Drink is not a significant source of Vitamin C)
• Wet T-shirts. Yeah.
  • (And for the ladies: Bare-chested men)
  • (And for the nerdies: Bare-chested Fred Ngo)
• Rumours of the next fight being scheduled near the end of August
• Some people went a bit overboard with their guns. One had a giant reservoir pack on his back, with a tube supplying his gun with an endless supply of water. The most inventive choice though had to be a bucket. Fills in a second, and delivers a big punch, but only once.

I got there about 12:15, expecting a huge crowd (or at least a small crowd) at the Angrignon Park exit to the metro station. I had to look a bit before I found some people with bright-coloured water guns shooting at each other. I stayed and watched for a bit before I decided I’d just go out, buy one for myself and join in the fun.

I came back, loaded my gun and sauntered over to the grassy shooting field. It wasn’t long before someone noticed I wasn’t wet at all. Then another. And another. Suddenly I was being swarmed. The mob was growing and everyone was targetting me. I had to close my eyes by this point so all I remember is lots of water.