Photo Credit: South Peace Centennial Museum Facebook

By Shane Clausing

South Peace Centennial Museum

South Peace Centennial Museum announces closure for 2020 season

May 1, 2020 | 5:30 AM

The South Peace Centennial Museum (SPCM) between The Village of Hythe and the Town of Beaverlodge announced Wednesday that its doors will remain closed for the 2020 season.

In a post on their Facebook page, the SPCM says, “After lots of discussion and many heavy hearts we have to announce the museum will remain closed for the 2020 season.”

“Due to the restrictions still in place and the government and public health saying no festivals or groups over 15 people until August 31. That pretty much takes care of our whole season. We hope to see all of you back with us in 2021!”

The SPCM is an agricultural museum laid out in a village-type setting. Its goal is to collect, preserve, restore and demonstrate agricultural artifacts of the South Peace Region from the time of settlement in the early 1900s to 1960s.

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Normally during the warmer months, the museum is a popular attraction for field trips, functions and weddings. These events all bring hundreds of people to the museum.

Dorothy Lieverse says that with all the provincial guidelines and restrictions in place, it would have been tough to abide by the rules AHS had laid out if the museum were to open.

“All of our fundraisers are large amounts of people, usually between 1,500 to 3,000 people, and there is no way that could be done. We were going to open and maybe just have people come through and visit, but there again, you would have to be careful with keeping 15 people distanced.”

“Our sanitation also would’ve been an issue because we have outsourced toilets, we don’t have the manpower to keep it clean (consistently). When we took a look at it we thought that it’s not feasible or profitable for our situation to be open. That’s the reason we stepped down.”

Lieverse added that even if restrictions are relaxed by the province over the summer, the museum will still remain closed in 2020. She says that the museum might be able to make something work for their annual fall festival, but that right now seems like a long shot.

While the museum won’t open its doors in 2020, volunteers are still allowed to show up at the museum and work to help maintain the property so they can keep it ready for 2021.

Projects such as painting and maintaining the artifacts all still need to be done and the SPCM says they’re always looking for volunteers to help maintain the property.

“If there is somebody who is interested and wants to help volunteer, they can give me a call and I’m sure we can put them to work and find out what they really like to do,” said Lieverse

Lieverse added that it is a good way to keep yourself busy during the quarantine.

Those interested in volunteering can also contact the SPCM on their Facebook page.

Lieverse tells us that she does not know how much money the museum will lose this season but estimates that around 3,000-4,000 people pass through the gates on a yearly basis.

At this moment the SPCM is the only museum in the Peace Region to announce it’s closure for the 2020 season. The Grande Prairie Museum tells EverythingGP that they have not yet made any decisions regarding opening in the summer.