Islanders welcome indoor alternative for New Year's Eve
People said they were happy to go to an indoor event after celebrations in Victoria Park were cancelled
In Charlottetown, people usually expect horse and wagon rides, music and dancing, and a finale of fireworks at Victoria Park.
The family focused event is usually a highlight for Islanders on New Year's Eve, but the city announced days ago that it was changing those plans because of the "extreme cold gripping the country."
- Charlottetown to hold afternoon New Year's Eve celebration indoors due to cold weather
- Charlottetown cancels New Year's Eve celebration due to cold weather
With temperatures rising to only - 11C, a release put out by the city said the celebrations in Victoria Park "would have little to no shelter for the public to warm up" and that "event organizers felt the risk of frost bite was too high to host an event intended for families."
Too cold to be outside
"Yeah it's a pity. People have been looking forward to it," said Iain Carnegie who was taking a stroll through Victoria Park on New Year's Eve. "But you can understand with it being so cold to take the risk of maybe getting injured because of the coldness."
The city announced on Friday it would be hosting a new event instead in conjunction with the Island Storm Basketball team at the Eastlink Centre, where families were invited to an indoor tailgate party.
As part of the event, Island Storm players handed out free hot dogs and there were bouncy castles set up for kids, all leading up to the basketball game against the Halifax Hurricanes.
'A good idea for the kids'
"I thought it was a good idea for the kids, especially with the looking forward to Victoria Park today and the frigid temperatures today, so I think it's a great idea to have stuff for the kids indoors," said Trevor Campbell.
Jennifer Fairhurst said she appreciates an indoor alternative after the original celebrations were cancelled by the city.
"If they hadn't done that, we probably would have just hung out on our own, doing our own family thing so it was nice that even if they did cancel it, they had an alternative that families could tap into," she said.
Nine-year-old Skylar Fairhurst said the new event exceeded her expectations.
"I thought there wasn't going to be a lot of people to show up but there is a lot...it's fun because the bouncy [castles] and everything."
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With files from Julien Lecacheur