B.C.’s Playland pushes back opening to May 25 over COVID travel restrictions

Advertisement

Advertise with us

VANCOUVER - A Vancouver amusement park has delayed its opening until after the May long weekend amid concerns it will attract COVID-19 rule breakers.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/04/2021 (1983 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER – A Vancouver amusement park has delayed its opening until after the May long weekend amid concerns it will attract COVID-19 rule breakers.

Playland says in a statement that it was set to open at the Pacific National Exhibition May 1 after developing a safety plan supported by Vancouver Coastal Health.

However, it says concerns were raised that the opening could draw travel from outside the regional health authority during a discussion with the Provincial Health Office.

A sign reminding guests to stay 2 metres apart is seen on a fence as people ride an attraction at Playland amusement park at the Pacific National Exhibition, in Vancouver, on Friday, July 10, 2020. A Vancouver amusement park has delayed it opening until after the May long weekend amid concerns it will attract COVID-19 rule breakers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A sign reminding guests to stay 2 metres apart is seen on a fence as people ride an attraction at Playland amusement park at the Pacific National Exhibition, in Vancouver, on Friday, July 10, 2020. A Vancouver amusement park has delayed it opening until after the May long weekend amid concerns it will attract COVID-19 rule breakers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said Monday that officials were working with Playland to consider the risks and benefits of opening the amusement park.

She said that while outside is safer than inside, “this is not the time that we want people coming together for recreational reasons.”

Non-essential travel is prohibited between three different regions of the province until May 25.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 27, 2021.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Jets new backup Stevenson ‘stoked’ to be in tandem with Skinner

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Preview

Jets new backup Stevenson ‘stoked’ to be in tandem with Skinner

Mike McIntyre 6 minute read Yesterday at 4:23 PM CDT

It didn’t take long to get the dirt on the newest member of the Winnipeg Jets.

Meet Clay Stevenson, who has no problem if you prefer to refer to him by his long-standing nickname of “Mud.”

“You know, Clay is in the mud, and there you go. That’s it, right there,” Stevenson said Wednesday with a laugh. “I got it in juniors when I was playing in Coquitlam, and kind of stuck ever since.”

Stevenson is now hoping to make a name for himself in a city that, quite fittingly, translates to “muddy water” in Cree. The 27-year-old from Alberta was placed on waivers by the Washington Capitals and claimed by the Jets, who were looking to clarify a goaltending situation which was as murky as the Red River.

Read
Yesterday at 4:23 PM CDT

Face up to fact you blew it with ex-wife

Maureen Scurfield 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

DEAR MISS LONELYHEARTS: My ex-wife just moved back to town and looks like a changed woman. She spent years married to me, and our kids just graduated in a city where we once lived together. That was without help from me, other than minor financial stuff.

She has found a great new job back in Winnipeg and she’ll do very well. I admire her more than any other woman I ever met, but she’s not interested in me at all.

I once had a solid, responsible job and then got into drinking, and I cheated on her. That’s why she left town. Now I’ve been sober and sorry for many years.

I asked her last weekend if I could take her out to dinner and she said no and changed the subject.

Who has been invited to the table?

Stephen Borys 6 minute read Preview

Who has been invited to the table?

Stephen Borys 6 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Last Friday, I spoke at Booth University College’s inaugural Honour and Hope Harvest Dinner in support of Shelter U. I had been asked to speak about the power of art in the community, a subject I have spent much of my professional life thinking about — as a museum director, writer and teacher, and now through my consulting work with Civic Muse.

What continues to interest me is not simply what museums, universities and other public institutions do, but whether their work actually matters — whether they make a difference in the lives of the people and communities around them.

Preparing for the evening brought me back to an even more fundamental question: Who has been invited in?

One of my museum mentors used to remind me that institutions often begin the conversation about public engagement too late. Before engagement comes the welcome, and before the welcome comes the invitation. We can create extraordinary buildings, exhibitions and programs and say that everyone is welcome. But unless people believe that these places are also meant for them, many will never cross the threshold.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

What does the PC stand for in party’s name? Seems to be Pretty Confused

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Preview

What does the PC stand for in party’s name? Seems to be Pretty Confused

Tom Brodbeck 5 minute read Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2026

It should have been obvious from the beginning that the Manitoba Progressive Conservative party was going to have trouble holding itself together under Obby Khan.

Read
Tuesday, Sep. 29, 2026

Winnipeg Book Festival starts a new chapter

Ben Sigurdson 4 minute read Preview

Winnipeg Book Festival starts a new chapter

Ben Sigurdson 4 minute read 2:01 AM CDT

Once known as Thin Air, the 2026 Winnipeg Book Festival marks a new chapter heading into its 29th year celebrating fiction, non-fiction and poetry with a new name, new staff and a shorter, more streamlined fest based at The Forks.

Read
2:01 AM CDT

Man charged after drugs, thousands of dollars seized

2 minute read Yesterday at 10:17 AM CDT

A 24-year-old man has been charged with numerous offences following a drug trafficking investigation by Winnipeg police.

In September, the Organized Crime Unit (OCU), initiated an investigation involving an individual and a residence in the 300 block of Stradbrook Avenue.

On Sept. 22, with the assistance of the Tactical Support Team (TST) and the Central District Community Support Team, officers attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle. The driver refused to stop and fled, colliding with another vehicle. A suspect was arrested a short time later after a brief foot pursuit. No injuries were reported as a result of the motor vehicle collision.

Subsequent search warrants were executed on the suspect’s vehicle and a residence on Stradbrook. Officers seized three ounces of cocaine (estimated street value $6,000); approximately $30,000 in Canadian currency; approximately $13,000 in counterfeit currency; packaging and other illicit drug paraphernalia; a scale; a vacuum sealer; fraudulent photo ID; and three cellphones.