Thing/Pong gets balls flying for the BC Children's Hospital

Play some ping pong and helps save lives at Thing/Pong, a fundraising ping pong party event in support of the BC Children’s Hospital.

Thing/Pong started as a pipe dream for Vancouver-based graphic designer Shawn Parkinson, after realizing there wasn’t a space or event that catered to the evidently passionately loved pastime of ping pong.

“Everybody that I talk to gets really excited about ping pong,” Parkinson told Vancity Buzz. “There’s a new park at Empire Field near Hastings Park, and there are some outdoor ping pong tables there. I was playing with my kids there, and everybody that passed got so excited… Even though they weren’t playing they were like ‘Oh! Ping pong!’ I wanted to make a space where someone can feel like they could take a risk and maybe try it for the first time.”

The event takes place all day on Sunday, May 1 with an all-ages session from 1 to 4:30 p.m. with food and drink, music, mini-tables and a tournament. Kids under 13 will get in by donation.

At 6 p.m. the 19+ event begins with a live DJ, a bar, and tournaments for prizes and trophies.

Parkinson says the goal of the event is to create a one-of-a-kind experience for Vancouverites, with the hopes of making it a recurring event.

“[I want to] build community a little bit, and do something that’s a little different for Vancouver,” he says. “There’s lots of places I’ve been… where I’ll see something and think ‘This could never happen Vancouver.’ So I’m trying to challenge that a little bit, and give Vancouver something it hasn’t seen before.”

Tickets and registration are available online via Eventbrite. All profits go directly to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

Thing/Pong

When: Sunday, May 1

Time: 1 to 10:30 p.m.

Where: The WISE Hall – 1882 Adanac Street, Vancouver