Thunder Run waterslide takes final riders before Village Square overhaul

Thunder Run, the waterslide that has defined summers at Village Square Leisure Centre since 1994, closed on August 31 after its final riders took the plunge one last time.

Twenty of Calgary's most dedicated fans — including Mayor Jeromy Farkas and hometown actor and comedian Andrew Phung — were given certificates commemorating their place in the slide's history. Farkas, who remembered waiting in line the day it opened as a kid in east Calgary, said the slide "hit harder than I remember." He was wearing dino-themed swim trunks for the occasion.

Phung, born and raised in northeast Calgary, grew up at the facility and later worked there from age 19 to 23. He organized the final celebration on social media after learning the Thunder Run would close. "I recognize that the slide has hit the end of its lifespan, so I'm not trying to save it, but I'm like, we got to send it out with some glory," he said. "This slide literally in this facility literally changed the lives of kids growing up."

The closure is part of a broader repairs and upgrades project at Village Square that begins Monday. Farkas said the new Thunder Run is expected to reopen at the end of 2027. "I'll be here with the kids when they reopen next year," Phung said.

Rob Refvik, who grew up in Temple and traveled from Airdrie for the final rides with his young daughters, called it a fantastic memory. "I couldn't be more excited, like what a way to remember this," he said. Logan Thompson, another final rider, had last used the slide at least 10 years earlier. "It's pretty crazy to think that I would be part of the end of such a legacy," he said.