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Making scenes in the Southwest

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May 3, 2015 by Ruth Carter Leave a Comment

Cartwheeling to Federal Pizza

Federal Pizza's Billboard at Central & Camelback
Federal Pizza’s Billboard at Central & Camelback

When a billboard went up saying it took only 50 cartwheels to get to their restaurant from a major intersection, it was a statement that needed to be tested! Federal Pizza’s billboard is at Central and Camelback; the restaurant is four blocks away at Central and Oregon. Would fifty cartwheels cover the distance? We had to find out!

So on Sunday, May 3, 2015, a small but determined group teamed up with Improv AZ to cartwheel to Federal Pizza. We gathered at the base of the billboard and made the end-over-end journey to the restaurant. Four cartwheelers completed the trek along with four supports who cheered us on, laughed at us, and carried our phones.

Let me tell you – turning cartwheels for four blocks makes you dizzy.

And it’s not always pretty.

And the people at Postino look at you funny through the window.

But we made it!

Final Cartwheel Counts
Final Cartwheel Counts

We determined early on that that statement about 50 cartwheels is hogwash. According to data gathered by our slightly wobbly group, it takes an average of 161 cartwheels to get there. By the time we reached the restaurant, we were sweaty, tired, and glad that the world had finally stopped spinning.

Federal Pizza had caught wind of our stunt and welcomed us to their patio to relax and treated our group to pizza. It was the perfect reward for completing the quest and solving the mystery of “How many cartwheels does it take to get to Federal Pizza?”

Thank you to everyone who came out and made this such a fun event and a very special thank you to Federal Pizza for feeding us delicious pizza and inspiring this stunt.

If you want to stay in the loop on Improv AZ’s shenanigans, please subscribe to our mailing list, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel too where you can see some of our past events.

Photo Credits: Amy Donohue

Filed Under: flash mob Tagged With: billboard, Cartwheels, Federal Pizza, flash mob, Improv AZ, prank, stunt

January 14, 2013 by Ruth Carter 1 Comment

No Pants 2013 Recap – The temperature dropped, and so did our trousers!

courtesy of nooccar
courtesy of nooccar

The overnight freeze warnings did not deter our 350+ participants from dropping their pants at the 5th annual No Pants Light Rail Ride. This event is part of the Global No Pants Subway Ride, which was started by Improv Everywhere in 2002.

A balanced mix of newbies and veteran pantsless riders braved the cold and started the ride from three different locations. This was the first year we had groups switch trains mid-ride. Every time a group disembarked and boarded a new train, they ended up on a train with another group of pantsless people from our group – talk about awesome timing!

courtesy of nooccar
courtesy of nooccar

We had our usual reactions from people who were shocked and surprised by the display of legs around them. Our group did an excellent job of maintaining the front that we weren’t part of a larger event but that it was just a coincidence we all forgot to put on pants that day. There were a few pantsed people who were frustrated that they couldn’t figure out what was going on, and some even made disparaging remarks to our groups’ captains. They didn’t understand that nothing they could say would make us put on pants or feel bad about rocking our undies in public!

We also had at least five people who didn’t start the ride with the group drop their pants and join in the fun. We love growing the group as we roll across town.

One interesting thing to note – the group that started from the west side encountered light rail security at back-to-back stops. They said they were there to do random ticket checks, but we’re pretty sure they wanted to check out everyone’s underwear.

After all the riding and changing trains, our group met up at Angels Trumpet Ale House, a great place in Phoenix for craft beer and having fun. We had a blast mingling, sharing stories, and taking pictures for over an hour before dispersing. Some people stayed at Angels Trumpet while others moved on to other downtown establishments and the rest of us hopped back on the rail and headed for home.

No Pants Light Rail 2013 group shot courtesy of noocar
No Pants Light Rail 2013 group shot courtesy of nooccar

Kudos to the photographers from Phoenix New Times, College Times and AZ Central who dropped their pants and were not obtrusive in their coverage like we ask (check out their photos!). Sadly, other news outlets weren’t quite so considerate, and seemed a little surprised when we told them to get lost. You’ve got a whole year before next time to get some nice underwear and more discrete cameras, guys – get on it!

Behold, the most excellent video from the ride!

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event a huge success and a special thank you to Angels Trumpet Ale House for hosting us. Please check out the photos from the 2013 No Pants Light Rail Ride on Flickr and subscribe to our YouTube channel so you get videos on future pranks and flash mobs.

If you want to stay in the loop about our future shenanigans, including our secret flash mobs and pranks, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter.

Filed Under: flash mob, reports Tagged With: light rail, no pants, No Pants Subway Ride, NoPantsPhx, NPSR, Phoenix, pictures, underwear

September 22, 2011 by Ruth Carter Leave a Comment

Fake Protest #2 – Down With Sequels!

Down With Something!

Grab your posterboard and Sharpies! It’s time for another fake protest!

This Saturday, September 24th at 10am, we’re going to let loose with another round of ridiculous signs, chants, and overall silliness.

Remember, don’t protest anything real – just have fun! We had some awesome signs at the first Fake Protest earlier this year.

  • Stupid Should Hurt
  • Don’t Worry – I’m From The Internet
  • Cap’n Crunch Hurts My Mouth
  • Honk If You’re Horny
  • Mona Lisa Was Framed
  • Why Not?

Have fun being creative. These signs need to be easily read by people driving by. It’s best to use bold colors and lettering, and at least a 22”x18” posterboard. Feel free to coordinate your outfit with your cause. Check out the video from the first protest for more inspiration.

Feel free to chant during the fake protest. It’s fun to have everyone chanting 3-word chants in unison and have all of them be different.

Spread the Word

Please Tweet about this, RSVP on Facebook and please share it will all your friends! Bring out as many people as you can!

When and Where

We will be protesting at the intersection of 20th Street and Camelback Road. We had such a good experience here at the first protest, we decided to use it again. Parking is available in the shopping center on the southwest corner of the intersection, near Best Buy.

Show up around 9:45 for last-minute instructions and to divide everyone up into teams, get the cameras going, etc. We’ll protest for at least half an hour, and take it from there to see how well it’s going.

See you on Saturday!

Filed Under: flash mob, Missions Tagged With: fake protest, Phoenix

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  • Phoenix No Pants Light Rail Ride 2020 is coming Jan 12th!
  • Save The Date: Phoenix No Pants Light Rail Ride 2019
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  • No Pants Light Rail Ride 2018 was fantastic!
  • Announcing the 2018 Phoenix No Pants Light Rail Ride

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