What you need to know about Columbia’s Slide the City this Saturday

Thousands of people’s Fourth of July plans will include making a splash on a 1,000-foot slip and slide in downtown Columbia.

Here’s what you need to know:

▪ The slide, spanning the length of three football fields, will be set up on Gadsden Street, starting at Blanding Street and ending at Hampton Street. The slide will operate from noon to 5 p.m. Purchasing an “unlimited slider” pass allows you to slide an hour earlier and an hour later, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

▪ Setup for the slide will begin around 5 a.m. Saturday. Gadsden Street, between Blanding and Hampton, will be closed from 4 a.m. to midnight. The intersections of Gadsden at Blanding and Gadsden at Taylor also will be closed. Police will be directing traffic in the area.

▪ Inflatable tubes are required to ride the slide. One-time riders must bring their own or purchase one. “Triple sliders” and unlimited riders get tubes included as part of their registration fee.

▪ Riders must be at least 5 years old and 46 inches tall. Riders younger than 18 must have a waiver signed by a parent or guardian.

▪ You can buy tickets online at a discounted rate before Saturday. The cost is $25 for a single ride, $40 for three rides and $60 for unlimited rides, including riding an hour early and an hour late. Tickets are also available on-site the day of the event for an additional $5. Using the promotional code “freedom” when purchasing tickets online will get you a $5 discount as well as send part of your sales toward the Celebrate Freedom Foundation and the S.C. Tunnel to Towers Foundation.

▪ More than 2,000 people already have purchased tickets online.

▪ Columbia is one of more than two dozen stops the event will make around the country and Canada this month. A recent Slide the City in Fort Mill drew more than 2,000 sliders. The event has come upon problems and complaints in some cities, though, including long lines and delays, malfunctioning equipment and safety concerns.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 11:08 PM.