Home » Buster Days and City Programming Cancelled Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

Buster Days and City Programming Cancelled Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

by Shanine Sealey
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Although there is a plan in place to gradually re-open Saskatchewan, there are still safety restrictions in place to ensure the health of the public continues in the right direction. With this, sporting events, community events and programming has all been cancelled for the time being.

The City of Martensville has cancelled all programming at this time due to the public health order in place by the Provincial Government. “All of our facilities are closed and the schools are shut down, so the avenues that we used for programming are not available either. The City has refunded everyone for all programs that have been cancelled by the City. We did not keep any administration fees or anything like that. If a program didn’t run, we refunded it,” Angie Reddekopp, City of Martensville Program Coordinator, said.

As for other service groups in the community, Reddekopp noted that many of them have been put on hold or cancelled as well, although some are waiting to see if they can potentially run a partial season that takes place later in the summer as opposed to the spring.

The re-opening of indoor and outdoor recreation facilities will take place in Phase 4 of the plan to re-open Saskatchewan and at this time, there is no date in place as to when this will happen. “We are waiting on the province to let us know when it is okay for us to open and start operating again.”

The season for the Martensville Aquatic Centre is still currently up in the air, although Reddekopp noted that the City of Martensville hopes to have information out to the public within the next couple of weeks. “There is a possibility of opening for a shorter season, but that has not been confirmed at this time. Swimming lessons were supposed to open on May 11th, so we were hoping to have an answer to everyone prior to that so that people know what to expect for summer, but again, that all depends on announcements from the province and we don’t have any answers until then.”

In addition to programming being cancelled, a community favorite event has also been terminated this year. Buster Days, which was scheduled to take place June 5th, 6th and 7th, will not be happening. “I have worked with the City for 20 years and we have never fully cancelled this event. We have had to make changes or shut down parts of the event due to weather, but this is something new and very disappointing,” Reddekopp said.

With the cancellation of Buster Days, it impacts many areas of the community. Local residents will not get to take part in some of their favorite annual activities and many service groups that volunteer their time towards the event will not receive the financial donation that they would typically receive from contributing to the fun-filled weekend. “Buster Days is a big community event and it brings everyone back to that small town feel. For that weekend, our community is booming and vibrant and everyone seems to have such a good attitude. The fact that we are going to miss that this year is really disappointing for a lot of people.”

Events for Canada Day are still unclear, and as the event get closer to Canada’s birthday, more announcements will be made.

“The main purpose is to keep everyone safe and healthy. The province has put down rules and regulations and we are following those to keep everyone safe in our community. Martensville will bounce back. We will get back out there, get active again and be there ready to go as soon as we get the go ahead. We look forward to seeing you all again soon,” stated Reddekopp.

For more information about local programming and events, you can contact the Martensville Athletic Pavilion at 306-683-5576.

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