Stepping out: Families head to reopened pools, theatres
Easing of restrictions Friday opened doors that were closed for months
Angela Roy’s day out with her 11- and 13-year-old sons Friday likely cost her more than the close to $40 she spends when ordering a new movie to stream at home, but it was going to be worth it, she said.
Heading into Landmark Cinemas at Pen Centre for a matinee showing of ‘Boss Baby 2: Family Business,’ she was one of many Niagara residents taking advantage of indoor areas like cinemas, indoor dining areas, gyms, bingo halls, and recreation centres open for the first time in several months.
Movie theatres have been closed since last March, and Roy and her sons hadn’t enjoyed the full cinematic experience in two years.
“We’re quite excited to get out of the house and spend an afternoon together,” she said before heading into the theatre, adding her family, prepandemic, would try to catch an intheatre movie once every two months.
Della Kwacz shared a similar sentiment, joined by her daughter and two young granddaughters, also headed into Landmark Cinemas to catch the
new Boss Baby animated movie.
“It’s fabulous,” she said, adding she was pleased to see the theatre didn’t appear to be too busy Friday afternoon, basing this assessment on the parking lot at the rear of the mall in St. Catharines.
“There’s not a lot of cars it seems, and hopefully that means not a lot of people,” said the St. Catharines grandmother, adding that visiting the cinema was previously part of their “regular routine,” as is playing soccer for her granddaughters.
“We’re back almost to the real world, again,” she said.
St. Catharines resident Chris Doan hasn’t been in a gym since April, he said, getting ready to enter World Gym at Niagara Square in Niagara Falls around 11 a.m.
He’s been fortunate to have a friend with a home gym in his garage he has trained in recently, but he feels for others who haven’t had access to equipment.
“I’m sure a lot of people are depressed — this is a stress reliever,” he said.
Such a long break from fitness training can take its toll.
“They stop for months, and now they have to start all over again,” he said.
Vanessa Duke could be found getting her two young sons ready for a swim at the St. Catharines Kiwanis Aquatics Centre, after spending some time at the neighbouring municipal park and playground.
“The kids are antsy. They want to get out of the house and do something new,” she said, noting Friday’s temperature not being too high created an ideal day for an indoor swim and that her sons “don’t like being outside all the time.”
She booked a time slot Friday morning on the city’s website and filled out a COVID-19 symptom questionnaire. The process was simple and convenient, she said.
With the facility separating groups through designated times, it eased her mind as well.
“I feel comfortable knowing it isn’t going to be a lot of people at once,” she said.
At Delta Gaming in Fort Erie, the site isn’t open for bingo, but its gaming machines were turned on for the first time since late 2020.
Ellie Restivo was walking in Friday afternoon after accepting an invitation from friends to join them for an afternoon of excitement. “It’s been a long time. There’s nothing to do here,” she said, adding that she isn’t concerned about being indoors at a gaming hall because people are “far enough away from one another.”