In most years the Tisdale and District Museum holds a pancake breakfast and daily events to ring in Canada Day – but not this year.
Marilyn Styan, museum co-ordinator, attributed the pandemic leading to the event not happening for the second year in a row.
“Traditionally the museum, even before I got involved, they always did a Canada Day event on July 1,” Styan said.
“We have some games or something for the kids to do, we’ll rent somebody to come in with the bouncy balls, something like that idea. We have the mini-golf there, so people can do that, and we usually get a lady to come in and do face painting for the children.”
If they wanted to hold the celebration, she said entertainment would have needed to be scheduled well in advance. If pandemic conditions changed it would mean losing a deposit.
In addition, the risk of cancellation means the supplies for the breakfast could potentially go to waste, costing a less appetizing sum.
“We just felt better to be safe than sorry and not plan something, just wait and see,” Styan said.
“You get all those supplies and everything ready to go, and you don’t have it. Then that’s kind of a waste in a way. I guess all the advertisements that go out, and then you try to go around and cancel posters. It makes for a whole lot of work. We have a very small group of volunteers.”
Styan advised community members to keep their eye out for an event in the fall, as organizers look to late August for a tentative date to create an outdoor event.
She said one possibility that has been discussed include a car show, but residents should also expect an announcement for the official opening of their replica historic co-op gas station built with funds from Federated Co-ops.
“We still have to have some sort of official opening,” she said. “I think they were trying to co-ordinate something there to maybe involve that kind of activity too for that day.”
