Celebrants flock to parks, outdoor activities on first Easter weekend in three years without COVID restrictions


Stanley Park Easter Train rides sold out on Friday and border crossings into the US drew long lineups all day as British Columbians ditched their vaccine passports and some of their masks

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After COVID-19 canceled Easter and other long weekend rituals for the past two years, British Columbians appeared ready Friday to celebrate the three main religious celebrations this weekend — Vaisakhi, Passover or Easter.

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The sun barely shone in Metro Vancouver on Good Friday, a BC statutory holiday, but a little rain didn’t deter families from snapping up all the tickets for the Stanley Park Easter Train rides. The event, which was canceled in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic was sold out on Friday.

“As soon as we heard about it, we bought the tickets online,” said Judy Kim of West Vancouver, who was at the park with her husband, John Ahn, and their kids, David, six, and Lina, three.

The family had also attended the Christmas Train ride at the park and said protocols were stricter then because ticket-holders still had to present their vaccination passports, a public health order that was removed in BC on April 8.

“Now the kids can run around,” said Kim. “It’s a lot more different now.”

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Federal public health officials have declared that Canada is in a sixth wave, due to a variant of the Omicron that caused a surge of cases in Central Canada.

Called BA.2, it arrived at the beginning of 2022 in BC and now accounts for half of the cases in the province. In Stanley Park on Friday, few were wearing masks.

The Easter Train at Stanley Park in Vancouver was sold out Friday as families flocked to the Easter-themed event.  Alannah Brietkopf of Coquitlam attended the event with her niece and nephew.
The Easter Train at Stanley Park in Vancouver was sold out Friday as families flocked to the Easter-themed event. Alannah Brietkopf of Coquitlam attended the event with her niece and nephew. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

“It’s so nice to see people out this year,” said Alannah Brietkopf of Coquitlam, who attended the event with her niece and nephew, Keera, eight, and Keegan, five.

She had no concern about not wearing a mask outdoors, and she has already gone maskless to a Vancouver Canucks hockey game and to an indoor concert. She had tickets to an indoor concert at the Orpheum on Friday, too.

“It’s nice to be able to get the masks over with,” said Brietkopf.

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But Becky Liu of Coquitlam and her children Matthew, eight, and Hannah, four, all wore masks at the Stanley Park event.

“Last year, we didn’t go to any parties,” said Liu. “Now we can come out and the kids can come out and play.”

In a rare convergence, Passover, Easter and Ramadan, the Muslim month of daytime fasting, prayer and community, coincide this year. Ramadan ends with the celebration of Eid al-Fitr on May 1-2.

Thousands of British Columbians attended services to mark Good Friday to commemorate Christ’s Crucifixion almost 2,000 years ago, three days before he rose again on Easter Sunday. Eastern Orthodox and some Eastern Catholics celebrate Easter on April 24 this year.

The weeklong Jewish holiday of Passover started Friday, with the first ritual dinner called the seder, usually held in homes and community centers to mark the Hebrews’ liberation from slavery in Egypt, led by Moses, over 3,000 years ago. The second night of the seder was to take place Saturday.

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Meanwhile, Sikh organizers last month made the decision to cancel the massive Vaisakhi parades that celebrate spring and the birth of Khalsa — by Guru Gobind Singh Ji, the 10th Sikh Guru, in 1699 — in Vancouver and Surrey, for the third year in a row because of COVID.

But there will be a Vaisakhi celebration at the Ross Street Temple on Saturday, beginning with prayers and hymns at 8 am, followed by an outdoor celebration at noon, featuring live music, a small parade and free vegetarian food, including lentils and rice, jalebi , pakoras and samosas and more, as an act of seva, or selfless service. The event is free but guests are asked to RSVP.

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