It’s not much of a surprise that the 2021 Waskimo Winter Festival is being cancelled.
Spokesperson Jim Aho says this is due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“We can point to all of the restrictions around large gatherings, indoors and out, we just can’t do that,” Aho said. “Look at the temperatures as well, even if we were able to mount a festival this weekend for Regina and for families, it would be tough just because of the weather.”
Aho says the focus now shifts to 2022.
“Interestingly enough, next year in February, Regina — for the very first time — is hosting the Saskatchewan Winter Games,” Aho said. “We’ve already been talking with their organizing committee.
“Waskimo would love to be a big part of the celebrations around the winter games.”
Organizers instead will be operating horse-drawn wagon and stagecoach rides around Wascana Lake Feb. 20 and 21.
Aho says they have received approval from the province and provincial capital commission to do this.
“These rides will be about 15-20 minutes long, and we have a lot of restrictions in place to make sure that we do this safely,” Aho said. “It’ll be restricted to families only per ride, and there’s a maximum of five people on the wagon. We also have a stagecoach drawn by quarter-horses, and we can put four people inside the stagecoach.”
Tickets are available online, and a link to purchase them can be found here. No walk-up rides will be allowed.
