Over the past few weeks, our staff, team of volunteers, and board of directors have been discussing the possibility of reopening, listening to one another’s concerns, and evaluating the risks involved.
While Peterborough City and County are doing fairly well at the moment in regards to our number of COVID-19 cases (we’re currently a yellow zone in the COVID-19 Response Framework), we are concerned about the introduction of the new, more contagious COVID-19 variants in our region.
As a national and regional tourism destination, a significant portion of our visitors come from outside the city. While locals enjoy the museum – we always love seeing people exploring in their own backyards, families playing in the galleries, and members revisiting to take in the experience more fully – we know that we draw visitation from all over Ontario, and truly, Canada.
This fall and early winter, we made an effort to discourage guests from visiting if they were from a higher COVID-19 zone than Peterborough, but it has been difficult to enforce. Relationships are important to us here at the Canadian Canoe Museum, and we take great pride in being part of the Peterborough community. We don’t want to put the well-being of our community in jeopardy by reopening without consideration, or too pre-maturely.
With all this in mind, we are taking a measured and responsive approach to reopening. Our doors remain closed, but we will be continuously monitoring the situation. If nearby regions continue on the right path and move into lower zones of the COVID-19 Response Framework, we will be more comfortable and confident in reopening our doors.
This doesn’t mean ALL of our doors are closed – our virtual doors remain open, and we will continue to provide ways to engage with and explore the museum online through our CCM from Home content! We are re-starting our virtual field trips and tours, and will be reaching school students across the province, and—thanks to funding from ECSF-United Way Peterborough— local seniors in care.
Lastly, we are reintroducing curbside pickup for local residents. Beginning March 3rd, we’ll be offering curbside pickup on Wednesday mornings from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for those that would like to shop online at canoemuseumstore.ca and save the shipping costs on apparel, books, and one-of-a-kind creations by Canadian artists.
Take care, and stay well. We hope it won’t be too long before we can see your (masked) faces in person once again. 🛶