The annual Moonlight Madness in Qualicum Beach will be held this month but will not feature its usual festive activities.
Kim Burden, executive director of the Parksville & District Chamber of Commerce, said due to COVID-19 protocols, they are unable to hold planned events.
“We are scaling it back so that we would be in compliance with the health order,” said Burden. “Stores will be open late but we won’t be able to have promotional things like hot chocolate stations and music in the streets. We’re not able to do that for obvious reasons. They don’t want people gathering in groups.”
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The events will take place Nov. 19-21, with stores open late on the first two days. Burden said it is a blow to local businesses that have already endured setbacks since the pandemic broke out earlier this year.
“It’s another disappointment,” said Burden. “We’ve been faced with a number of disappointments throughout the year.”
Vancouver Island residents have done a good job of complying with the health department, Burden said, and it has kept the region relatively safe compared to other places in B.C.
“They’ve been told to shut down everything again and we certainly don’t want to get to that stage,” said Burden. “So it’s hard for people to see what could happen. We’ve been fortunate here and have managed to keep this disease at bay to a large extent. We’re a little bit spoiled and we have expectations. And everytime we get out expectations going there seems to be a disappointment that comes and it’s hard for people to understand.”
