Hallowe’en is Back on at the Fort
Parents and guardians looking for an alternative to the traditional trick-or-treating will be happy to know that there will be physically distanced trick-or-treating from room-to-room at Fort Whoop-Up on October 30 and 31.
Fort Whoop-Up with fall foliage.
Photo by Fort Whoop-Up
For immediate release
Lethbridge—Looking for an alternative to trick-or-treating for the family this year? Fort Whoop-Up will be holding their Hallowe’en Spooktacular, a unique Hallowe’en experience for all ages on October 30 and 31 from 1–5 pm.
With many parents and caregivers looking for different ways to celebrate Hallowe’en, the fort will be offering physically distanced trick-or-treating from room to room with costumed characters, wagon rides, spooky stories and more.
“The staff and volunteers at the fort will be disinfecting treats and high touch surfaces to let kids and adults alike enjoy a less stressful version of our favourite Hallowe’en activities,” says CEO/ED Darrin J Martens. “Visitors will also enjoy a leisurely carriage ride through the river valley. Then the group will gather with performers like local historian Belinda Crowson and actor Andrew Legg to hear spooky local stories that are suitable for all ages.”
“Tickets to the event are $5 and we will be limiting attendance to 20 people per hour to ensure physical distancing is possible and masks will be required for all visitors, so book your spots soon at fort.galtmuseum.com.” says Site Coordinator Natasha Gray. “We will be doing the event over two days to let more people participate and enjoy a unique Hallowe’en activity this year.”
Due to the success of the Back-to-School Photos Fundraiser at the Galt Museum & Archives, visitors to the Hallowe’en Spooktacular can now have their pictures taken in their Hallowe’en costumes. Participants will have the option to donate copies of the photos to the Galt Museum & Archives as part of the historical record. Donations for the photos to support the Friends of the Galt Endowment Fund will be gladly accepted on site.
“The Friends of the Galt Endowment Fund is important for the future sustainability of the museum and fort,” says Volunteer and Resource Development Coordinator Chris Roedler. “The fund helps sustain our world-class exhibits and programs.”
Individuals and groups who aren’t able to book a spot in the Spooktacular can stiil book Hallowe’en photos online at fort.galtmuseum.com/booking.
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This media release can be found at www.galtmuseum.com/news.
Media Contacts
Graham Ruttan (he/him)
Marketing and Communications Officer
graham.ruttan@galtmuseum.com
403.320.4009
Fort to Welcome Visitors Starting June 30
Fort Whoop-Up will once again open its gates to visitors on June 30, 2020, albeit, in a socially distanced, COVID-19 conscious fashion.
For immediate release
Fort Interpreter Harrison Red Crow gives a guided tour to two guests.
Lethbridge—Fort Whoop-Up will once again open its gates to visitors on June 30, 2020, albeit, in a socially distanced, COVID-19 conscious fashion.
“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome visitors back to Fort Whoop-Up,” says CEO/Executive Director Darrin Martens. “Reopening the Galt Museum & Archives has given us a lot of experience on how to reopen safely. We have hired our summer staff, and our whole team has been carefully planning how to ensure that the fort is as safe as possible.”
As with admission to the Galt, the fort has implemented ticketed admission. The tickets are the price of a regular adult admission, and visitors should purchase them on the fort’s website before arriving. The cost of admission includes a guided tour of the fort and a horse-drawn wagon ride through the river valley.
“Our online ticketing uses the same award-winning system that we launched earlier in the year for our school class bookings,” says Martens. “Each time slot has ten tickets available, and those will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.”
Tickets are available for time slots between 10 am to 5 pm on Tuesday through Saturday and between 1 pm to 5 pm on Sundays. The fort will be closed to the public on Mondays for a more thorough cleaning. The fort will maintain a capacity of only ten visitors per time slot to ensure that visitors have an extraordinary experience and follow social distancing guidelines. Guests must explore the fort as part of their personal guided group tour and they can hop on a wagon ride through the valley after the tour through the fort.
Fort Interpreter Harrison Red Crow gives a guided tour to two guests.
“We will be offering food, beverages and ice cream to walk-up visitors through our service window just inside the Fort’s main gates,” says Site Coordinator Natasha Gray. “We are asking customers and visitors to use cashless payment systems whenever possible to minimize physical interaction with our staff. Because the store area of the fort has relatively little space, we will be limiting visitors to the store to only six individuals to help maintain social distancing.”
“2020 is the 150th year since the original construction of Fort Whoop-Up. We had many plans to commemorate that anniversary with the community and reflect on the impact the fort has had on Indigenous communities and traditional ways of life in southern Alberta,” says Martens. “We are committed to sharing the rich history of our communities in southern Alberta, and we will announce further plans for special events at the Fort over July and August.”
Tickets to the fort can be purchased at fort.galtmuseum.com/visit.
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This media release can be found at fort.galtmuseum.com/articles.
Media Contacts
Graham Ruttan (he/him)
Marketing and Communications Officer
graham.ruttan@galtmuseum.com
403.320.4009