From a new Greek Night to the returning Sidewalk Days to an expanded Prohibition Days, Tourism Moose Jaw (TMJ) is excited to support many events this year now that pandemic restrictions are gone.
“We’re just happy that we’re getting activities back … ,” said executive director Jacki L’Heureux-Mason. “It’s going to be three busy weeks. June 25 is the Greek Night. July 1 is Canada Day. And then July 7 is Sidewalk Days, so we’re kind of adopting the whole ‘We’ll sleep at the end of July’ mentality here.
“Between that and growing Prohibition Day, I think we’ve become a very well-rounded event-based information centre.”
Greek Night
TMJ is working with the Downtown Moose Jaw Association to host Greek Night on Saturday, June 25. Cocktails are from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., a gourmet dinner is from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and Greek dancing starts at 8 p.m. featuring Arkadia.
The band The Uncoolas then hit the stage at 9 p.m.
Attendees can win a trip to Greece and either a $4,000 travel voucher or $2,500 in cash.
Tickets are $125.
Businessman John Iatridis sits on the TMJ board and wondered why Moose Jaw wasn’t holding a Greek night considering he — and many other Moose Javians — attends a similar evening in Regina, said L’Heureux-Mason.
TMJ has wanted to work with the downtown association for a while, she continued. Meanwhile, businessman Aaron Ruston has helped the organization secure money for a new trolley and has offered to host a fundraising evening. So, the board combined all these factors while bringing in The Uncoolas.
“We’re trying it out, and so far, ticket sales are going very well,” L’Heureux-Mason said. “We’re really excited. We’d like to grow it. We only have 250 tickets this year, so we’d love to get to 400 like Regina.”
All funds raised will be split between the downtown association and Tourism Moose Jaw.
Canada Day
Tourism Moose Jaw has worked with the Kinsmen Club since 2018 to host Canada Day with the club funding the day. However, TMJ wants to quit this project because organizing it was supposed to be temporary and it’s a lot of work handling this event and Sidewalk Days.
If Tourism Moose Jaw had held Sidewalk Days last year, L’Heureux-Mason pointed out, it would have overlapped with Canada Day.
“We were willing to take on the challenge (of holding both), but I don’t know how it would have happened. I also feel like after we went through our strategic planning this year — which, it was one of the best ones I’ve been a part of — it really became clear that we really want to focus on things that draw tourists to Moose Jaw,” she continued.
Supporting Canada Day diverts manpower and energy away from other activities, while TMJ is forced to close its visitor centre for the day, said L’Heureux-Mason. Moreover, while July 1 is one day and less work than Sidewalk Days, the latter draws more people and the opportunity exists to grow tourist numbers.
Check TMJ’s social media pages for information about Canada Day.
Sidewalk Days
Sidewalk Days returns on July 7 to 9 after a two-year hiatus, with Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
With a laugh, L’Heureux-Mason admitted that organizing the downtown event is not like remembering how to ride a bicycle.
There used to be an experienced committee of eight people that organized the event, but the committee has shrunk to four people — and three of them have no experience, she said. However, they have dedicated themselves to ensuring the event is memorable.
“They are really excited about it. They have new energy that I was not expecting and (a) really great desire to make it successful,” L’Heureux-Mason continued. “I think it’s going to be great.”
The pandemic was hard on many businesses, which has resulted in fewer smaller businesses — upon whom TMJ relied as vendors — participating in Sidewalk Days, she said. Usually, about 220 businesses take part, but that number is 200 this year.
“We’re sitting at about 32 food vendors, which the most we’ve ever had is 28, so that’s exciting. And some really unique vendors we haven’t seen before,” continued L’Heureux-Mason. However, there are fewer out-of-town vendors than in previous years because they don’t exist anymore.
Residents should check Tourism Moose Jaw’s social media pages for further information about Sidewalk Days.
Other activities
Christmas in October — Oct. 21 and 22 this year — has gained momentum during the past few years, so Tourism Moose Jaw hopes to run its new trolley during that time — as it did in 2021 — if the weather holds, said L’Heureux-Mason.
Meanwhile, the organization wants to expand Prohibition Days — Sept. 16 and 17 — by working with the downtown association since the latter is interested in presenting “their own cool thing,” she continued.
“It is a trolley pub crawl, but it’s a lot more than just drinking. It’s (about) experiencing the food and beverage industry in Moose Jaw … ,” L’Heureux-Mason said. “We usually try to dress up in Prohibition Days costumes and have some fun with it.”
TMJ also has its regular trolley tours and plans to run the new vehicle — which has heat — until hopefully the end of October. The organization is also considering a trolley tour in 2023 that highlights the community’s Aboriginal culture.
