Pandemic need not be winter of discontent

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 24/09/2020 (2169 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

We may be in the first few days of autumn, but many Winnipeggers are still desperately trying to hold on to summer. 

This clinginess makes sense even in normal times — I don’t need to tell you what’s coming, you live here — but there’s a distinct “buckle up” vibe this year thanks to the pandemic.

We’re staring down the barrel of six months, give or take, of no barbecues, no patios, no distanced gatherings at beaches and parks. The usual escape hatches that make this season bearable for those who can afford them — the Mexican vacations, the condos in Palm Springs — are not available this year.

Hey, remember the flu? How about seasonal affective disorder? Those aren’t going anywhere, either.

But instead of thinking about how we must squeeze the last sunkissed drops out of summer, we should start thinking about how to maximize winter.

A recent piece in Bloomberg’s CityLab highlighted ways cities in the United States could embrace (and possibly even enjoy) a COVID-19 winter, highlighting Edmonton’s excellent WinterCity initiative for inspiration, as well as an American program involving three cities called Wintermission, which aims to reduce the social isolation that can be brought about by hibernation season.  

Winnipeg wasn’t mentioned, though it certainly should have been: over the past several years, Winnipeg has leaned into its designation as a winter city. Festival du Voyageur — the annual 10-day winter festival whose tagline is now “we don’t hibernate, we celebrate” — has become a hot nighttime destination, with people lining up for hours in February temperatures to watch bands, sip on Caribou, and belly up to the ice bar. 

For seven years, RAW: almond set up a pop-up fine-dining experience on the frozen rivers in late January, an only-in-Winnipeg event that drew international attention. The Forks’ 10-kilometre skating/walking trail and the Instagram-friendly warming huts that populate it, fat bikes and outdoor saunas, skate-dance parties, the invention of crokicurl (curling meets crokinole) — all these things have encouraged people to get outside. 

All of these things will, to borrow the phrase of 2020, “look very different this year.” But their existence and popularity speaks to our creativity and ingenuity. We have, as a city, found unique, inventive ways to make hanging out outside in the dark, deep-freeze of winter not only tolerable but pleasurable, which puts Winnipeg in a unique position to make the best of a COVID-19 winter.

We already have what many cities don’t, which is cultural buy-in; the idea of spending time outside in -20 C isn’t an exotic concept. In fact, it’s a badge of honour.

Getting people outside will be even more critical this year. We know, by this point in the pandemic, that socializing outdoors is much safer than doing so indoors, and that gathering in indoor, poorly ventilated spaces with lots of other people puts us at increased risk. 

We know that staying connected is important, and that fresh air is good for both our physical and mental health. It was true in the summer, and it remains true in winter. Allowing patios to operate well after the snow flies; working on permits for the creation of all-season spaces; keeping active transport networks plowed; implementing accessible warming stations — these are all ideas that could encourage people to go outside. 

And remember that old Scandinavian adage: there is no bad weather, only bad clothing.

jen.zoratti@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @JenZoratti