The Lions Club of Medicine Hat has cancelled its annual hayride event at Police Point Park.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
A longstanding winter tradition has been cancelled this year.
The annual Lions Club of Medicine Hat Hayride usually takes place at Police Point Park on the first Sunday of December.
Club president James Higgins says the group did not want to take unnecessary health risks.
“We discussed it at every level and decided it wasn’t worth the risk,” he said. “With case numbers going up, we wanted to play it safe.
“We didn’t want an outbreak to happen at one of our events, so unfortunately we had to cancel.”
Around 600-700 people of all ages take part in the free event every year.
The Lions Club always offers hot dogs and hot chocolate at the event. It also accepts donations for the Medicine Hat and District Food Bank.
“This is a really popular event and it’s our way of giving back to the community,” said Higgins. “This is the first cancellation in 36 years.
“I’d like to encourage everyone to help out the food bank if they can.”
