A diverse lineup of festivals featuring music, food and fun bring crowds to New Westminster streets and parks each summer – but that’s unlikely to be the case in 2020.
New West Pride’s street festival, May Day and the New West Grand Prix are among the local events that have already been cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coun. Mary Trentadue said she was approached by a member of a local organization that presents a variety of events in New West.
“They are struggling with whether there will be events in the city in the summer,” she told council April 20. “I know on our website it says May 30 is sort of the date after which there may be an opening. I am wondering if there is any consideration on our part to make a decision about the summer.”
Trentadue questioned if the City of New Westminster needs to provide direction to local organizations that plan various festivals and events.
“It would certainly provide certainty in a time of great uncertainty,” said Blair Fryer, the city’s director of communications and economic development. “That is a question that has been brought forward at our working group by a couple of nonprofit organizations.”
Fryer said the city continues to take its lead from the provincial health officer.
A March 16 order from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry prohibits gatherings in excess of 50 people. Although this order expires on May 30, it can be extended, and Henry has stated that big events, like parades and festivals, such as the PNE, will not be happening this summer.
“I think they’re pretty well a write-off,” Coun. Chuck Puchmayr said about local festivals.
Puchmayr, who has helped organize events in the 12th Street neighbourhood, said festivals need sponsors. He noted that some of the larger companies that normally sponsor local events, including Key West Ford and Starlight Casino, have take a huge hit because of the coronavirus.
“I think with a lot of these groups, it’s just a nonstarter already because of that,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of festivals can really get up and running quickly. I am sure there are possibly some, like some kind of a Canada Day event.”
Dean Gibson, the city’s director of parks and recreation, said staff is working on a report about events that take place in New West, including those that are sponsored by the City of New Westminster and those that are produced by other groups but require the use of city properties or facilities.
The New West Pride Society has announced that it’s forgoing its annual Pride Street Festival for 2020, saying it must do its part to practise physical distancing for the time being. The society also stated it’s in the early stages of planning innovative and creative content that will allow everyone to celebrate the diversity of the community.
Coun. Jaimie McEvoy said it’s possible events may need to adapt from what they’ve been in the past and consider social distancing requirements.
“Pride, for example, have said they are not going to have the street festival but they are looking at what they can do. Coquitlam is looking at what they can do for some kind of Canada Day celebration,” he said. “These kinds of creative, innovative, hybrid kind of things are happening.”
McEvoy said he’d like to know how other cities are responding to orders from the provincial health officer.
“I have seen outdoor yoga that is physically distanced in a park with markers in place. Coquitlam library is doing pickup where people can pick up their books, just like you can pick up your take-out food. ... There is going to be some limitations or some different kind of way of doing this,” he said.
“I want to encourage us, as we go forward, that we think about some of these other things that are happening in other communities, where they are finding ways to provide some of the community service,” McEvoy added.
