The sound of actor Owen Wilson saying “wow” has become an internet sensation, gaining steam across the globe.
On April 21, hundreds of others are expected to be imitating his phrase at the not-yet-built Capital Pointe hole in downtown Regina.
Paula Krasiun-Winsel has organized the ‘wow’ harmony get-together, which has gone viral on Facebook.
“There’s been kind of a growing movement of people gathering around monuments or buildings and cities globally to say ‘wow’ like Owen Wilson. I arrived at the conclusion that the site of the event should be where the tallest building is supposed to be but is currently the deepest hole,” she said.
The event is called “We all stare at the Capital Pointe Hole and say ‘wow’ like Owen Wilson.” It plans to have hundreds of people stand at the hole as a part of the trending movement happening around the world. A similar gathering in Calgary at the Calgary Tower is also expected to take place on April 21.
Although Krasiun-Winsel’s event is not a protest, she says it has evolved into a gathering with political undertones.
“It’s kind of turned into a political statement with the growing dissatisfaction with the state of affairs around the building with the lack of construction on the site,” she said. “I didn’t realize that I struck such a nerve within this community.”
Capital Pointe has been an ongoing hotel and condo project since the Plains Hotel that used to stand at the site was torn down in 2011. Krasiun-Winsel says the empty hole on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Albert Street upsets her.
“I’m frustrated. I mean, I just turned 30 this weekend. This has been an on-going thing since I was in high-school,” she said. “We’re revitalizing our downtown area and bringing so much life in, yet there’s this massive hole in our city’s most prominent intersection”
She says she wants “We all stare at the Capital Pointe Hole and say ‘wow’ like Owen Wilson” to be a an event where people can exchange conversation and ideas.
“We can gather as a community and have fun in our public spaces. The act of gathering to say ‘wow’ is just an act of community,” she said.
So far nearly 600 people on Facebook say they are going, with over 2,000 people being interested in Krasiun-Winsel’s event.
