The ‘No Pants Subway Ride’, an annual global event started by Improv Everywhere in New York in 2002, is back again this year in Montreal on January 13th – but here it’s called the ‘Metro Ride’. The organizers like to describe the event as nothing more than ‘a celebration of silliness’ and ‘absurdity for absurdity’s sake’. Anybody wanting to participate in this year’s event is invited to meet up at the Sherbrooke Metro Station at 2:30pm this Sunday – with their pants on. Once passing through the turnstile, all pants are off!
As they state on their website, ‘The idea behind the ‘No Pants Subway Ride’ is simple: Random passengers board a subway car at separate stops in the middle of winter without pants. The participants behave as if they do not know each other, and they all wear winter coats, hats, scarves, and gloves. The only unusual thing is their lack of pants’. Montrealers are used to all kinds of unusual happenings in this fair city – but this event should turn a few heads around indeed!
Improv Everywhere is a comedic performance art group based in New York City, formed in 2001 by Charlie Todd. Its slogan is ‘We Cause Scenes’. The group carries out pranks, which they call ‘missions’, in public places. The stated goal of these missions is to cause scenes of ‘chaos and joy’. This is their 18th annual No Pants Subway Ride and it will be taking place on Sunday in New York City and in over 60 cities around the world. For more information about the group go to: https://improveverywhere.com
According to the ‘No Pants Subway Ride Montreal’ Facebook page the ‘eventually-pant-less route’ is planned as follows for Sunday January 13th 2019:
2:30 pm: Meet at Sherbrooke Station.
2:50 pm: Catch the first metro towards Berri-UQAM.
3:20 pm: Regroup at Lionel Groulx to head back to Berri-UQAM.
3:50 pm: Meet up at Berri-UQAM at The Puck (right after the turnstiles in the middle of the first floor) for pictures.
4:00 pm and later: Post-pantless chat, meet up, hang out at Saint-Houblon bar on St-Denis.
To keep within the spirit of the event, organizers ask participants to refrain from being loud, obnoxious, and bothering other riders. Leave passageways clear and open for riders to flow freely to and from trains.
Nobody wants a metro hooligan, especially when they’re not wearing pants.
* Price: Free
