Among the cancellations the Town of Sylvan Lake is introducing a new event.
The first-ever stargazing event on Sept. 18 will give attendees a chance to learn about the night sky with snacks and live string instruments adding to the atmosphere of the autumn night.
Piper McArthur, special events coordinator for the Town, says the event is being run in partnership with Kerry Wood Nature Centre.
“We’re having one of their lead astronomical interpreters come out and kind of show people the ropes of how to stargaze like a pro and, of course, teach them about the constellations and whatnot,” said McArthur.
She says the idea of Picnic Under the Stars is to have people “explore Sylvan Lake in a new perspective” while also introducing them to a new hobby and reconnecting people in a safe way.
The event will be in Lakefront Park from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sept. 18.
“Its kind of naturally a dark sky setting, but we’ll be shutting down the lighthouse for the duration of that event,” added McArthur.
There are a limited number of spaces at the event, which must be reserved through sylvanlake.ca/events under the Picnic Under the Stars tab. It is $40 per space, with each space accommodating up to four people in a family or cohort.
The evening is recommended for couples looking for a date night or for families with children over the age of eight as it is a slower moving program near the water.
Stargazers are asked to dress warm as well as bring their own snacks and blanket.
“Of course we’d love to be able to serve and do more of a VIP kind of that experience, but because of safety protocols we’re encouraging people to bring their own things,” McArthur said.
“We’ll have a nice setting laid out for them, they just have to bring their goodies.”
As it is an outdoor event there are plans in place to combat weather such as mild cloud cover.
“Obviously it’s very weather dependent but there’s a lot of activities that we’ve kind of programmed into there to make sure that we can work around that.”
In the case of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled and tickets will be refunded.