'We're thrilled': Stage 2 starts Thursday, restaurants and attractions prepare for busy weekend
Stage 2 of Alberta’s Open for Summer Plan starts Thursday, easing dining restrictions and marking the reopening of some Edmonton attractions.
Restaurants may seat up to six people at a table, indoors or outdoors, and dining is no longer restricted to households only. The province says physical distancing and other restrictions still apply.
“With more than 67 per cent of eligible Albertans vaccinated with a first dose, a fully reopened Alberta is within our sight,” Premier Jason Kenney said in a press release Wednesday.
“We are putting the worst of this pandemic behind us for good and moving into a bright summer and an even brighter future.”
The premier is still encouraging Albertans to get vaccinated so the province can fully reopen this summer.
WHAT IS REOPENING IN EDMONTON?
West Edmonton Mall announced the reopening of the following attractions: Ed’s Bowling, Professor WEM’s Adventure Golf, Marine Life, Ice Palace, DRIVE, Alien Outbreak Escape Room, Dragon’s Tale Blacklight Miniature Golf.
“We’re thrilled, we’re ecstatic, we’re happy, we’re all of the above and so much more to be opening again,” said Lily Lein, parks and attractions marketing manager at WEM.
Galaxyland and WEM’s World Waterpark will reopen shortly after the Stage 2 relaunch.
Attractions will be open with one-third capacity, and all tickets must be booked online to guarantee a spot.
Theatres across the province will also reopen starting on Thursday. Landmark Cinemas CEO Bill Walker says staff are excited to get back to work after being shut down in December 2020.
“We felt we were unfairly closed and severely restricted through some of this,” said Walker. “While capacity is limited, we’re also looking forward to a reduction in those restrictions as we get into July.”
However, he added: “I don’t imagine there’s a moment where we just rip the Band-Aid off and say, ‘The rules are gone.’”
Capacity restrictions will be similar to last summer, with 33 per cent of fire code capacity allowed in the theatre at Landmark.
Movie times have been staggered to allow for increased cleaning and to allow movie-goers to enter and exit the theatres with less people crowding the lobbies, Walker explained.
He added people can still buy tickets in person, but encourages Albertans to buy online to guarantee availability of tickets.
“We’ve sold about 60 per cent of the available seats that we had for Thursday,” said Walker.
He says the most popular movies will likely sell out this weekend as people are excited to get back into the theatre.
Walker adds that because of the large HVAC systems in their theatres and the distancing between seats, movie-goers can feel safe talking off their mask as they enjoy their concession snacks.
“We’ve never been implicated in a transmission of COVID through this whole pandemic,” said Walker. “Frankly, taking your mask off and just escaping and enjoying something that feels completely normal was really missed and something people enjoyed last summer and fall.”
Stage 3 of Alberta’s reopening plan is expected to begin in late June or early July and requires 70 per cent of eligible Albertans to have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'