Who would ever want to ride down a Slip ‘N Slide on pavement? Although it sounds unusual, hundreds of Knoxvillians did just that last Saturday.

Slide the City profited the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital by inflating a 1,000-foot slide in downtown Knoxville.

Participants bought a single ride, a three-ride package or an all-day pass.

Maria Fernanda Campa Ayala, a doctoral student at UT, bought passes with her boyfriend and a few friends using a Groupon they found online.

“We bought the three-ride one, but we’ve only been able to use two of them,” Ayala said. “We were waiting in line for hours.”

Despite early rain showers and long lines, Ayala and her friend Victoria DiStefano thought the slide was worth the wait.

“When it was super rainy people said it was better because it was faster,” Ayala said.

The friends said the experience exceeded their expectations.

“I actually thought it would be flat,” DiStefano said. “I was trying to figure out how they would do that, if it would be a lake or lazy river or something like that, but it goes really fast.”

Tracy Pressnell, a volunteer at the ticket booth, attested to the popularity of the event in spite of the day’s weather.

“It’s been packed all day,” Pressnell said. “I didn’t think there would be this many people. It’s overwhelming.”

A few participants even came back to buy more passes for the slide, she said.

One of many volunteers standing along the length of the slide, Mary Catherine Pile, is a Volunteer at the Children’s Hospital.

Her job was simple: Give people a boost if they slow down.

Pile’s favorite aspect was all the people watching the day afforded.

“One woman dressed up as a turtle on the way down,” Pile said. “She had a shell on and everything.”

When antics ended at 5 p.m., volunteers had their chance to slip and splash through the city before the slide was packed up and on its way to the next destination.