Pillows were fluffed and feathers flew at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 5 as hundreds of Vancouverites gathered in the rain outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to participate in the city’s 9th annual International Pillow Fight Day.

The fight works much like a flash mob: pillows are hidden and everything looks like a normal day to passers-by, until the moment comes when everyone yells, “Pillow fight!” and the battle begins.

“Despite the rain, a lot of people still came out. Vancouverites to the core!” said Esther Wei, an SFU student and first-time pillow fighter this year. “I am definitely going again next year.”

There have been over one hundred mass pillow fights around the world over the past years; Zaragoza, Strasbourg, Rome, Paris, New York, and Madrid are six of the many cities that have participated in similar events.

Due to miscommunication on the Facebook page, there were actually two pillow fights this year: one on either side of the Vancouver Art Gallery. One of the fights was larger than the other, but there was no shortage of fun or excitement at either.

This event is just one of many envisioned by The Urban Playground Movement. The group organizes free, non-commercial public events for all ages such as a massive mobile clubbing event in a London train station, a giant pillow fight near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, and a subway party beneath the streets of Toronto. The goal is to accentuate community rather than consumerism on an international scale, encouraging people to get up off the couch and have fun.

The goal was definitely achieved in Vancouver. “It seemed like there were lots of different people there from young to old and different ethnicities,” said Wei. “It didn’t matter who you hit, everyone was there to just have some good old fashioned fun.”