All summer events in Black Diamond have been cancelled as the Town follows provincial orders to restrict public gatherings, putting further strain on the community this tourist season.
Black Diamond special events co-ordinator Kelly Tuck said the town relies on the parade, music festival and car show to not only draw tourists to local shops and restaurants, but to keep residents engaged through volunteerism and participation.
With strict limitations on social gatherings in a province-wide effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, neither merchants nor residents can reap the benefits of these much-anticipated community events.
“We see 3,000 to 4,000 people in town for the Diamond Valley Parade and we know that the two-day Diamond Music Festival brings 4,000 to 5,000 people,” Tuck said. “That’s what our business community looks for is people coming in and doing their shopping and eating in our restaurants.”
The decision to cancel June’s Diamond Valley Parade was made about a month ago. The recent decision to cancel the music festival and car show was in response to Alberta’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw’s orders to cancel summer events and festivals across the province.
Plans were already in the works for the Diamond Music Festival - Black Diamond’s Canada Day celebration - and the Town had been collaborating with the Thumb’s Up Association to host a beer festival in conjunction with the association’s Black Diamond Car Show at the end of July, Tuck said.
“We are still in a local state of emergency so we’re just following procedure,” she said. “What comes down from our medical officer of health pretty much dictates how communities will operate.”
Town staff have not yet determined if appropriate safety measures can be implemented to host the Canada Day fireworks, or if rescheduling is the better option.
“At this point I just don’t know what that would look like,” Tuck said. “Is it bringing in security to ensure people are social distancing? We just need a different way of doing it.”
The next community event scheduled to take place is Light Up Black Diamond on Dec. 4.
