Even in a virus pandemic, there are still 101 things to see and do here.
Inside today’s issue of the News Bulletin, we present our 2020 edition of our tourism guide 101 Things to See and Do in Nanaimo. The magazine is always a staycation guide of sorts, as we promote only local activities, but this year that theme is more pronounced as most of our readers have accepted public health officials’ requests to avoid non-essential travel. It’s unfortunate some of our travel plans aren’t happening, but we’re pretty fortunate that if we’re going to be stuck, it’s here.
There’s no question that COVID-19 will take its toll on Nanaimo’s summer. About one-quarter of the listings from last year’s 101 Things to See and Do had to be scratched because of festivals being cancelled, businesses being closed, venues being shut down, etc. Even some activities planned for the fall we left off the list if they seemed uncertain or unlikely.
We have a feeling that the pandemic has forced Nanaimo families to become experts on what to see and do, as there were weeks of self-isolation when we needed to find ways to entertain ourselves and our children. But we hope our list this year will still be useful as inspiration, as we present examples of places where we can still go and activities we can still do, even if some of them are altered a little bit by physical distancing and other health and safety best practices.
We live at a central hub of a spectacular Island that’s nearly coronavirus-free and we have a lot of time on our hands. There are some things we’d like to do that we can’t. But it’s not going to stop us from having a great summer. It’s not going to stop us from so many of the things we have here to see and do.
For the e-edition of 101 Things to See and Do in Nanaimo, click here.
editor@nanaimobulletin.com
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