It has been a pretty exciting around here in the short time since the shiny new 1.4 billion dollar light rail system rolled into town on December 27th. It was the first grand opening of it's kind in the valley; we have had the first Light Rail New Year's Eve, the first Light Rail crash, and many other "firsts." Thanks in large part to Jeff Moriarty, today at 3:00 PM dozens of people are expected to participate in the very first "Improv Everywhere No Pants Day" on the Phoenix Light Rail line. While no pants day is new to us, it is part of the 8th annual Global No Pants Subway Ride with participants world-wide including places like New York, San Francisco, Korea, Amsterdam and Canada to name just a few.
Jeff has put out a lot of information for people interested in today’s Phoenix Light Rail No Pants Day via the web and via a No Pants Subway Ride group on Facebook.
According to Jeff's site, "Since 2002 they have had an annual No Pants Day where they get a bunch of people to ride public transportation wearing colorful underwear, acting like everyone just happened to forget their pants and there isn't anything particularly odd."
People interested in participating should meet at either of the light rail stops listed below at 3:00 sharp. They will board the first train after 3:00 and head north to the Central / Campbell station before returning to their original stops. (see the video below for more information)
Saturday, January 10th 2009
Time: 3:00PM
Light Rail Station: Either Dorsey and Apache stop (Stop #1), or 38th St & Washington (Greyhound Park) (Stop #2) (A map of the phoenix light rail system is available to assist in planning your trip)
I was able to meet up with Jeff at EVFN (East Valley Friday Nights) and shot this video that might help explain things a little more. He made it clear to me that this is not obscene, not for tourists / voyeurs, and is just a fun event that is not meant to be disruptive or unlawful. Evo Terra is the founder of East Valley Friday Nights, a group of people that meet every Friday at East Valley locations for socializing, said that he is looking forward to riding the light rail today sans pants. "I'll be wearing a suit jacket" said a smiling Evo.
This no pants day is getting quite a bit of publicity with news channels picking up the scoop. In fact, our friends at AZ Central will be streaming the news on their web site today via their Light Rail "Twitter feed" in case you want to follow along.
For all the info that you need to know, make sure to watch this video…
If you have decided to participate in this very first no pants day in Arizona, you can truly say… "Your Life Is On The Line!
Good thing this is today because, oddly enough, I forgot my pants today!