The Hamlet of Rankin Inlet's recreation department worked with hamlet council to try and make the holiday season in Rankin enjoyable for kids of all ages – enjoyable, but different.
Rankin recreation co-ordinator David Clark said he knew while drafting the hamlet's Christmas schedule that Covid-19 meant changes to the holiday experience this year
photo courtesy Putulik Photography
Clark said he still felt comfortable that folks in the community would appreciate the events the hamlet could offer.
He said there will be a few returning activities from holidays past that many in the community are sure to enjoy.
“We are going to do a big fireworks show this year and we are going to run some events, but we're doing things a lot differently than we normally do,” said Clark.
“We usually have big events at the rec hall and big square dances, all that kind of fun stuff, but, this year, none of that is going to be able to take place, so we're doing things a little bit differently and we're hoping our community understands and make the best of it.
“You know it's not going to be the same. This Christmas is going to be a little bit different than what most people are used to. It's just one of those things that you just have to take day by day. That's all that we can really do.”
Clark said that during most events his department tried during the Covid pandemic, the community has handled itself pretty well.
He said most people are very understanding and they're just all trying to make this work.
“Everybody is trying to do their best. It's not the ideal situation, but nothing about Covid was ever ideal, so you just kind of have to figure it out.
“This whole situation kind of saddens me because we had a really rough start to the opening of our new building. First of all we opened late our first year, and then got shut down early... then, the next season, we started on time and things were going forward when we got a four-week break, and now we're slowly getting back into it.
''We had two awesome senior men's games this past week. The senior league has got a couple new sets of jerseys, the hockey has been really good, but nobody's been in the building. It just feels a bit weird.
“It's nice to finally have hockey back, but it will be even nicer once we can finally get some people in here and make it feel like a real community event.”