This year would’ve been the 18th annual Kitsilano Soapbox Derby race. Seems that one reason given for the cancellation was because “the burden on volunteers made the race difficult to run”.
I guess for this year at least, there will be a soapbox derby, Red Bull style. And that means a bias toward ‘outrageous-looking’ soapbox cars (like chicken) versus the traditional soapbox style that’s built for speed.
This handy YouTube video from specialkiwis shows highlights from the Kitsilano Soapbox Derby 2003. Notice how steep West 4th Avenue is!