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An online petition created over the weekend on change.org by Calgarian April Parker has garnered more than 11,000 signatures by early Monday evening. The petition calls on the city to either “put this event to rest” or “at least … make it age-appropriate!”

Parker’s popular petition states in part: “Sexual predators will be on the prowl — having an event like that is just like Christmas to them,” and there is “an extremely high chance of photos and videos being taken without consent …”

Naked Jeff, the founder of Calgary Nude Recreation, moved to Calgary from Vancouver several years ago and is the organizer behind Sunday’s event at the Southland Leisure Centre. He has a novel solution behind remedying the controversy.

“I really think all of this backlash is proof that Calgary needs more nudity in it,” said Naked Jeff, who declined to give his full name for fear of the “crazies” who are lashing out at him online, insinuating he’s a pedophile or some other kind of sexual deviant.

“It’s crazy to associate social nudity with criminality,” added Jeff, who is in his 30s.

“Nobody would care in Vancouver. They’d try to do a news story on naked people in Vancouver and everybody would shrug and say, ‘That’s not news.’ That’s what Calgary should be like,” he argued.

As for the fear that people will be recorded surreptitiously, Jeff says all recording devices “will not be tolerated and people taking pictures or anything like that will be detained, arrested and charged.”