Centre Wakefield La Pêche will reopen Sept. 14 with a limited number of sessions and workshops planned by the centre’s new activities coordinator Carly Woods.
“The centre won't be planning any large events in the near future,” Woods cautioned, adding that even though the province allows for gatherings of up to 250 people, the centre just isn’t ready for that. “The goal is to open slowly and safely.”
Woods said the centre will begin with a few workshops, including one on preserving and dehydrating food, as well as two shortened sessions of such four-week programs as yoga, meditation, and painting.
An outdoor Zumba session began Aug. 6, and will run for four weeks on Thursdays.
“We'll be doing as much outside as possible,” Woods added, explaining that the preschool cooperative, Peggy Brewin, which is held at the centre, will also be in four days a week, “starting back up in small numbers.”
Woods also said the centre has looked into renting office space and that there has been corporate interest in hosting larger Zoom meetings with a small number of people meeting in person and then being broadcast to people across Canada.
As for keeping residents safe while they visit the centre, Douglas Henderson, the centre’s health and safety coordinator, has been hard at work getting the place up to date on all COVID-19 guidelines since he started working there July 17.
“[Now] when you enter the centre, there's a station to sanitize [at] and you get screened and registered for contact tracing,” Henderson said.
He explained that his job also entails communicating those guidelines to the public and, as such, he has posted a number of infographics on the front door about proper mask wearing, coughing technique, and updated provincial case numbers.
“I also created what we’re calling a process manual,” Henderson added. “The idea is [outside groups] can take this guide and walk through the doors and run the centre.”
If you have a suggestion for fall activities (in house and/or online) or would like to offer an activity or to rent a space, you can email direction@centrewakefieldlapeche.ca.