If there is no dude to chill in Dude Chilling Park, is the park still a chill place to be?

It’s a question for the ages, but for now, a fundraiser planned for tonight aims to raise a whack load of dough for the park’s beloved Dude.

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He’s been gone from the park, once known as Guelph Park, for months. It seems the weather has gotten to him.

Created by artist Michael Dennis and officially named Reclining Figure, the Dude needs a few thousand dollars’ worth of work. Specifically, the Dude is in need of a bronze casting to make him impervious to the elements.

Tonight’s fundraiser runs 7 to 11 p.m. at R&B Brewing, located at 54 East Fourth Ave.

This event is a collaboration between The Vancouver Art House Society, Eight 1/2 Restaurant Lounge, Mount Pleasant Community Centre Association and R&B Brewing.

Speeches from those connected to the Dude will be offered up by the likes of former park board commissioner and current council candidate Sarah Blyth, current park board commissioner Michael Wiebe and former school trustee Christopher Richardson. Dennis will also dish about the Dude, which he finished in 1991.

The evening will also include a raffle, auction and a DJ, and $2 from each beer sale will go to the Dude fund.

He would want it that way.

Event details are online at www.facebook.com/events/1756857811043056.

@JohnKurucz