Prince Albert residents will have a chance to celebrate the reopening of the province with a Party in the Park Friday morning.
Ward 1 Counc. Charlene Miller and Dawn Robins executive director of West Flat Citizens Group (Bernice Sayese Centre) are teaming up to organize the event. Miller said it’s a been a long 18 months, and people are ready to celebrate the end of Saskatchewan’s state of emergency.
“We are doing a party in the park for the reopening of Saskatchewan. We are serving up hot dogs and watermelon and everybody is welcome to come,” Miller said.
“To see everybody’s smiling faces without masks on is priceless,” she added.
The idea for hosting a party in the park came to Miller and Robins separately, but at around the same time. Miller said she was thinking about all the things she wanted to get done before taking some time off, and a reopening celebration was near the top of the list. She then phoned Robins, who was having similar ideas.
“I was having my usual afternoon nap and I was thinking of something to do before I go on vacation to just do a big celebration of some sort, and I went to sleep after I heard the news that Saskatchewan would be reopening on July 11,” she explained.
“We just decided that we were going to do a party in the park, and I would supply the watermelon and she would supply the hot dogs and buns and away we go,” Miller said.
Miller said that the Party in the Park will start at 11 a.m. and run until 4 p.m. or whenever products run out. She’s confident it’s going to take a while to get through all the food.
“I have 60 watermelon coming so we should be good,” Miller said.
The Party in the Park will be at the Lions’ Park at 130113th Street West adjacent to the Bernice Sayese Centre.
While some Prince Albert residents are celebrating the return to normal, some organizations still require masks in certain instances.
The Prince Albert Police Service said on Tuesday that any member of the public entering either of their locations would be asked to wear a mask, and anyone displaying symptoms of COVID-19 is asked not to attend in person.
Front-line officers will not be wearing masks when interacting with the public, unless they enter a building with mandatory masking requirements, or where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
Masks are also still required in all SHA facilities except long-term care homes. The SHA says it may deny access to anyone who refuses.
