Midway at the Pee Wee opens with all new COVID protocols (8 photos)

The manager of the midway operating this week at the Soo Pee Wee Arena says every possible precaution is being made to keep the event safe, including constant testing of employees, hand sanitizer at the rides, and social distancing in effect.

After a year and a half of being out of action due to the pandemic, Campbell Amusements set up a dry run for its operation in late July at the fairgrounds in Paris, Ont.

Once they proved it could open safely, they started making calls to communities who regularly host the midway, said manager Stewart Bell.

”We got open in Paris and the first place we called was Soo Pee Wee,” said Bell.

Campbell Amusements has missed the last two spring midway events usually held in May at the Pee Wee.

Sault Ste. Marie and Paris are the only communities to host Campbell Amusements since it shut down its regular season on Thanksgiving Day in 2019, which Bell said was a very good year.

“We went through the winter expecting 2020 would be no different and of course we refurbish our equipment and buy more trucks and spend a whack of money expecting to recoup the money in the summer,” said Bell. “Then all of a summer the following year comes along and no such thing — no season at all in 2020.”

The company had a number of false starts in 2020, but every time it looked like they would be able to start up the rides the rug was pulled out from under them due to COVID-19.

“We love the business because we love the sound of laughter from the kids and the candy floss and the popcorn,” said Bell.

Now Bell said the company is doing all it can to keep the kids screaming on rides.

“In our business the cost of getting going is 40 per cent of our entire budget. We can’t afford to do that without seeing it through,” he said.

When the midway opened last month in Paris, the company already had an 11-page guide for COVID-19 protocols. Bell said they include testing of employees, contact tracing for visitors through the gate, hand sanitizer throughout the midway ,and wiping down rides between runs, among others.

“We test our crew consistently, so we know none of our crew have COVID,” he said.

People attending the midway must complete a health screening questionnaire before entering the gates.

“I can’t believe how patient and accommodating the general public has been,” said Bell.

Each ride has its own protocol. In general, members of the same family can sit together, otherwise they must be distanced.

Distancing is also maintained because the company brought fewer rides to Sault Ste. Marie than it usually does, as well as fewer games and concession trailers.

Usually an all-cash business, this year the midway concessions and ticket windows accept debit and credit cards.

Bell said he was 18 years old when he joined the company and was part of the crew that came to the Soo Pee Wee for the first time in the mid-1970s.

“Soo Pee Wee is great,” said Bell. “They have always been big supporters of ours and we have always been big supporters of them. This is a fairly substantial event and we contribute financially to the arena.”

He added: “Money aside, it’s something of a tradition that we want to keep going.”

After starting with the company and working a few seasons, Bell started a family and took on a different career.

“My kids grew up and moved out and I thought, ‘I’m going to go back to the carnival.’ I had a job where I made more money than I do here, but this is the most fun business you can be in,” he said.

The midway runs until Aug. 22 at the Soo Pee Wee Arena.