Three Prince George organizations are coming together to provide pandemic friendly New Year’s Eve entertainment for the community.
Ness Lake Bible Camp, Northern Lights Estate Winery and the team who put on the Candy Cruise, known as Pandemic Friendly Entertainment are pooling their resources to give the community an affordable, fun and safe way to celebrate the end of the year.
All three of these organizations have dealt with last-minute changes to their own events in recent weeks. Ness Lake Bible Camp had to postpone its annual Polar Bear Dip fundraiser, Northern Lights Estate Winery had to cancel its Light Up the Orchard event and Pandemic Friendly Entertainment had to cancel The Santa Cruise.
On Dec. 7 Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry extended all provincial orders through until Jan. 8, 2021, including the mandatory mask order in all indoor public and retail spaces, the ban on household gatherings and general public events.
Henry, however, is allowing drive-thru and drive-in related events for the holiday season as it permits residents to stay inside their vehicles.
“We can still be festive, we can still connect with the family in a safe and virtual way," Dr. Henry in a plea to the public, during the announcement.
Trying to continue with serving their community while helping keep individuals safe, all three organizations have agreed with the health orders and thus started looking at new ways to engage.
"One of our big motivations is to give families and kids something to do during this second lockdown," says Dayna Penson who is the Program Director at Ness Lake Bible Camp, in a news release.
"We helped run drive-in trivia last spring and saw the impact it had. Getting out of the house and having the kids entertained for an hour seems to really help some families"
Ness Lake Bible Camp helped run three nights of drive-in movies just before Christmas in partnership with Westwood Church and College Heights Baptist Church.
Dave Horton, organizer of the Candy Cruise Prince George, says he is excited to give people something to do outside of their normal.
“After seeing the thousands of people who came out for Candy Cruise it reminded me that we are not done yet. Until all restrictions are lifted and businesses are able to fill the needs for entertainment then everyone still needs to keep working together to put new ideas into motion,” says Horton.
“These restrictions clearly need to stay in place until the virus has been managed more. With the vaccine being administered it's crazy to think where we will be in 12 months. I am hoping that there won't be need for these kinds of events next New Year's Eve."
Drive-In Trivia events are planned for Dec. 31 starting at 6 p.m. at the Northern Lights Estate Winery Orchard Parking Lot. Each event has questions and music based around Disney, The Office, Friends and Harry Potter.
In order to attend, you must pre-register and purchase a ticket. You can purchase a ticket by visiting Ness Lake Bible Camps or Pandemic Friend Entertainment's Facebook pages for links.
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