Only a few hours prior to the Town of the Blue Mountains (TBM) hosting its Oktoberfest event on Saturday, the provincial government put the clamp down on social gathering sizes.
“We didn’t have a lot of notice to try and determine what was allowed and what wasn’t so we erred on the side of caution,” said the Town of the Blue Mountains Mayor Alar Soever.
On Saturday morning, Premier Doug Ford announced the government would be limiting informal gatherings to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
TBM's Oktoberfest event had been planned to include an outdoor, sit-down dinner at the Legion in Craigleith beginning at 6:30 p.m.
The ticketed event had been approved by the Grey Bruce Health Unit (GBHU) and was staged with social distancing in mind.
TBM councillor, Rob Sampson said the town checked with GBHU for clarity on the provincial requirements when the announcement was made, but at that time, the health unit was not able to provide further clarity.
“I think what the government is trying to do is get at the unregulated, unmanaged parties in people's backyards,” said Sampson. “Not really at events like this. But the wording was so broad that we didn't want to get caught by it. And, if the intent is to shut these things down then, understandable. We managed to adapt.”
Despite having the event site decorated and ready to go, organizers quickly pivoted to move the dine-in ticket holders to be included in the drive-thru portion of the event.
"Always have a plan B, and you're likely going to be on plan Z by the time you're finished,” Sampson said, when asked for his advice in planning a fundraiser during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The event was held in partnership with the Marsh Street Centre and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #281 (Beaver Valley).
Proceeds from the event will be split among these groups as they continue to try and make up for revenue losses caused by the pandemic.
Sampson estimates about 250 servings were distributed at Saturday’s drive-thru event. Proceeds will be totalled in the coming days.
“It is not as much fun as holding the sit down event, but you know, at least it gets people a chance to get out, get something different and support the community while doing so,” he added.
According to Sampson, TBM is not ruling out hosting more drive-thru events in the coming months to help aid community organizations who have been hit hard by COVID-19.
“We definitely know how to run take-out events now and we might do another one before Christmas,” he said. “They seem to be working well. We have great co-operation from the local Foodland supplying the food and as you can see, a huge army of volunteers.”
