This week Schreiber Media Centre’s Linda Williamson ventured out of the studio and into the Schreiber municipal offices to have a conversation with Recreation Programmer Evan Cole. Last year had been a challenge when it comes to recreation as it usually implies some sort of physical interaction with multiple persons in attendance. The Recreation department is responsible for the organizing of events and the operation of the arena, the gym and other  recreation programmes such as Winter Carnival and Heritage Days.

Almost all recreation events were cancelled last year and in some cases virtual versions were attempted but failed to draw any attention. Almost two years later and some things have been slowly changing. It was decided that smaller scaled activities would be allowed and that the Winter Carnival would be resurrected this February. Also the Heritage Day festival which is marking a milestone this year would be prioritized pending any negative announcements from health departments. 

The most difficult part of hosting any events is they all rely on volunteers to bring them to fruition. That has always been a challenge for the Recreation department and the worries people have over safety and possible exposure to COVID variants. Evan has put out a call to recruit volunteerism order to host some of the planned programmes for the end of the month and the coming year.

Some of the highlights of this year seem to actually be what was considered normal pre pandemic. The constant reshuffling and closing and subsequent opening of venues made things extremely difficult. Social events such as Stag and Does (Northern vernacular for pre wedding parties) are expected to be back on schedule but as a new variant emerges and cases rise that might change at any moment. However Evan is optimistic, that with safety measures in place a so called return to normal might prevail. He mentions the seniors centre ability to adapt to the changes and still carry out successful programmes.

Some of the other challenges of course came in the form trying to book supporting services such as equipment rental when there was such uncertainty around closures.

One of the events that has had to be cancelled this winter is the annual poker run. Oddly enough it is not because of COVID restrictions but rather due to the fact that the area usually used for the run has been temporarily closed down due to construction of the hydro electric project that is currently underway. This has reduced access to many of the usual locations and resulted in that event being impossible to host.

Then, the biggest event of the year that everyone is looking forward to next year is the Heritage days festival. It is the 30th anniversary and is normally the busiest time of year with visitors coming home to see family and friends. The Discovery Centre/ Train museum will be a main focus of the summer season as its opening has been delayed by two years, so Heritage Days will centre around the introduction the new facility while paying homage to the history of the railroad is Schreiber. 

One of Evans’  other roles is head of the Schreiber Youth Committee but that has all but disbanded as the last group of students that were active in that committee all graduated and moved on. No new recruits were brought in over the last year so that is another area that will have to be addressed. Outdoor spotting events will also be given priority but again it will be dependent on the ability to recruit volunteers.