Festival staff at Snowbuddy’s Winter Garden are asking for understanding when it comes to booking spots to go inside the garden knowing that not everyone will be able to.
Simple math underlies the problem, says Mike Mitchell, AKA Black Ice Mike.
“Whereas 16,000 people would visit the Snowcastle in a normal year, Covid restrictions means that only about 1/3 of that number can visit the Garden this spring,” he adds.
Black Ice Mike has a few requests for potential visitors of the garden in an attempt to accommodate as many people as possible during the last week of the Garden from March 23rd-28th .
“If you’ve already visited the site why not unzip your coat and take your hands off the keyboard, leaving the remaining available spots for those who haven’t been so lucky?” he adds.
He also requests that folks stop knocking on Snowbuddy’s door and asking for favours as he does not have the authority to sneak anyone in.
Starting March 23rd, the garden will be reducing the group size on a pre-booked ticket from 10 to five, which should increase the chance of more people scoring an entry.
Mike says those who do book a ticket should make sure to arrive on time or cancel their spot immediately if they are unable to attend.
“No-shows are just no good,” he adds.
Mike says they’re keeping fingers crossed that Public Health will grant their request to allow more visitors into the Garden next week.
“Of course, the sad truth of the matter is that the global pandemic disappoints on many levels. It’s quite likely that some may not be able to book a spot when tickets again go live on Sunday,” he adds.
Residents are encouraged to take in the snow carvings outside the Garden and the dinosaur designs and snow-and-ice masonry on the Garden wall exterior as no entry or tickets are required for that.
