If you’re walking down Commercial Drive after patronizing one of its many cafés and see a gleaming-eyed child pop out of a giant cappuccino cup, don’t worry: you’re not having a caffeine-induced hallucination.

A 1,000-pound public art installation, paid for by the Commercial Drive Business Society (CDBS), was installed in Grandview Park last week with assistance from the Vancouver Park Board.

CDBS president Carmen D’Onofrio said the giant cement cup will be painted a brilliant azure blue by the end of the month.

“There’s a great café culture on the Drive that’s always expanding and changing,” D’Onofrio said when asked why his board decided to invest $10,000 in the one-metre-tall cup.

“I also think it ties into the roots of the Europeans immigrants that came and helped build this neighbourhood, whether Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French: people that always enjoyed good cups of coffee.”

The board is now watching public reaction closely so it can decide whether it wants to keep the vessel as is, or fill it in.

“When I was there just the other day there were two kids that were in there taking photos, which is a great idea, but then there’s also been discussion where maybe we should use it as a planter, and fill it with dirt and put flowers,” D’Onofrio explained.

“Then you lose the photo-op maybe, but it adds to the green space.”

The society is hoping to eventually install two or three more cups on the Drive, he said, which means in time both versions might appear.