It took the better part of two days to string 230 vibrantly coloured umbrellas over top of McBurney Plaza this week, but they鈥檙e done and already garnering much attention by passersby.

City of 91原创 staff have been working on the idea for the past 12 months, give or take, said Rick Bomhof, director of engineering, parks, and environment.

鈥淎bout a year ago we started discussing it. The idea came from Francis Cheung, CAO, during some travelling he had done in Europe 鈥� the year prior 鈥� where he saw different street art including umbrella aerial art,鈥� Bomhof said.

鈥淲ith COVID upon us and people鈥檚 inability to travel, we wanted to provide an attraction for people to visit locally,鈥� he elaborated, noting the City set up an enhanced Christmas display in the Plaza last winter.

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The goal, Bomhof said, is to 鈥減rovide a bit of cheer during these tough times.鈥�

The art installation, similar to one put up in a temporary park on Glover Road in Fort 91原创, took two days to erect and it will remain up until just after Labour Day.

In addition to the umbrellas being incorporated in the plaza, the Downtown 91原创 Business Association has bought a series of picnic tables that will be place in the plaza, as well as along the one-way section of Fraser Highway.

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They鈥檙e intended, Bomhof said, 鈥渢o provide more opportunity for outside seating.鈥�

鈥淯nfortunately there have been some delays in delivering the picnic tables partially due to COVID and the extreme cold weather event that impacted manufacturing plants in Texas this past winter,鈥� the engineer noted.

More planters have also been placed along the one-way for added greenery.

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