By Shane Clausing

evergreen park

Evergreen Park making plans for horse racing, drive-in theatre amid COVID-19

May 23, 2020 | 6:00 AM

Evergreen Park has officially re-opened to the public as of Friday morning.

With the re-opening the park has undergone some changes and rules that visitors will have to follow because of COVID-19 restrictions laid out by the province.

As of right now, The Pines Restaurant is the only thing that will be opened at the park and will remain open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The casino and slot machines will remain closed.

Don Moon, the Marketing, Sponsorship & Online Ticketing Manager at Evergreen Park says that the proper protocols are in place for a safe experience.

“We’re following all the rules and beyond as far as distancing. Tables are six feet apart, waiters and waitresses are wearing masks, we have plastic shields at the checkout, markings on the floor, we have hand sanitizer stations and lots of signage to let people know that they have to follow the rules.”

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Moon noted that all staff members at the facility interacting with customers will be wearing masks throughout their shifts. Customers are encouraged to wear masks if they would like, but they are not mandatory.

One thing that is uncertain at Evergreen Park for 2020 is the horse racing season.

As of right now horse racing isn’t allowed to occur in the province, but Moon tells EverythingGP if they get the green light to start up there will be racing in 2020.

“If it is held it would be held without spectators and it would be live streamed. There’s an app that you can download and do your betting online. So you can still have the live horse racing experience from your room.”

Moon mentioned that the online app and betting program that they are looking at using has become very popular across North America, especially during the lockdown.

“It’s a good opportunity to introduce people to the sport and to betting without them having to be at the track, and hopefully next year when we’re allowed to have people we’ve created some new horse racing and betting fans.”

Assuming horse racing can continue, Moon says that there will be enough jockeys in the area that are able to ride the horses. Normally the track will fly in jockeys from different places around the world.

“Right now, there is just enough to hold racing, we’re hoping to get a few more, obviously with the border being closed until later in June. Hopefully after that opens up we’ll get jockeys from the Philippines, Mexico and other places that are ready to come. I think we could probably start with what we have that’s available right now.”

With the reopening, a potential new event could also be coming to the park, as a local group has been looking to bring their drive-in movie nights to the facility.

Moon tells us that talks to use the venue for the drive-in theatre are still ongoing and are encouraging.

“I think the goal is to not just have it this year but to continue it from year to year and use it to give back to the community and do some fundraising.”

Moon mentioned that they have hosted drive-in theatres in the past.

With gatherings of 50 plus people now allowed outside, Evergreen Park is still looking at booking outdoor weddings at the facility, but they are still waiting on more clear guidelines from the province so they can host them.

More updates on Evergreen Park can be found on their Facebook page.