Kraay Family Farm and the Lacombe Corn Maze are on track to open, as scheduled on July 17.
Owner/operator Rachel Kraay said she and her team were waiting to see what was going to happen with the pandemic when they got the word they would be able to open as part of the Alberta Relaunch Phase 2. In the mean time, they have been developing systems to safely allow guests on to the farm.
“They are suggesting 10 square metres per family group. We took that number and mapped out our whole yard to figure out our limits. We will have limits to enforce if needed, but at this point we don’t think we will need that because we have so much outdoor space,” she said.
Kraay said the Farm is in the midst of hiring more employees to cover the added sanitation needed, but many of the suggestions from Alberta Health Services were things they were doing on a regular basis already.
“A lot of that was already in place but there will be more hand washing stations and cleaning of surfaces,” he said.
To prepare, Kraay Family Farms is hosting a one-day event to test out how potential systems could work.
“Part of the reason we are doing this to test out systems for timed entry, capacity and also how we flow people through. Those systems need to be working properly and we are testing them now in case we need to implement them,” she said.
Despite being able to open on time, the pandemic has affected the Farm’s bottom line including the loss of their spring field trips and the likely cancellation of field trips int he fall.
“We know things will be tighter this year, but we are going into it with a good attitude. People are looking for things to do close to home that is fun, outside and I think we offer that to people,” she said.
Kraay said the maze has already been cut for the season and will be unveiled in the coming weeks.
“It has to do with the situation at hand, but I won’t say what that is yet,” she said.
She added, “We do this because we know it makes people happy and I hope this year will be a continuation of that.”
todd.vaughan@lacombeexpress.com
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