After 16 long months of quiet, the Prince Albert Heritage Centre is ready to make some noise again.
The popular destination for Prince Albert seniors was forced to close its doors after the COVID-19 outbreak started, but on June 24, residents were back inside for some Crib, Kaiser and Pool.
Heritage Centre president Bill Norman said it’s been a long wait for members, who missed the centre’s camaraderie and community during the lockdowns.
“We have a membership of close to 300 people and a lot of them, they don’t have cabins at the lake or stuff like that, and they enjoy coming here,” Norman explained. “They can get out of their houses.”
Norman said he was getting calls just about every day at the start of the pandemic from seniors wanting to know when they could return. As the number of COVID-19 cases grew, those calls stopped coming, but the desire to spend time with a friendly community never wavered.
“There were quite a few people who were getting so cabin-bound that they’d get in their car and park outside here for a little while and come home,” Norman said.
Although the Heritage Centre has reopened, it’s going to take a while before everything returns to normal. Masks will still be mandatory until July 11, when the province officially enters the final phase of the Saskatchewan re-open road map. Norman also said members must get vaccinated if they want to visit.
While smaller events like pool and card game nights will open right away, larger events won’t begin until after July 11. Monday afternoon dances will resume on July 19, and the centre plans to have a reopening celebration sometime later too.
Norman said he’s optimistic the centre will remain open for good this time, barring an unexpected COVID breakout in the area, and hopeful everyone will want to return.
“We want everybody to come back,” he said. “There’s a few there who are hesitant about getting vaccinated, but we hope they’ll come back.”
For more information about the Heritage Centre reopening, or to verify operation hours, call 306-953-4826.