Easter Monday is the date doors will crack open at the Trail Riverfront Centre.
Trail council approved the planning group’s request that April 2 officially become the big day to invite the public in for a tour of the new integrated library/museum.
“The kids are out of school,” began Coun. Sandy Santori during Monday night council. “So the committee that is in charge of putting on the opening, felt this would be an appropriate day in order to ensure that we maximize the attendance.”
The open house will begin outside the building at 11:30 a.m. with speeches, ribbon-cutting and a plaque reveal.
The centre will then be open to accommodate afternoon tours. Due to the facility’s 230-head capacity, interested guests must sign up for an entry ticket from a tent, which will be located on Helena Street during event hours.
“We will have some outdoor seating set up (large tent) so folks can enjoy a burger and a soft drink,” the city’s Andrea Jolly told the Times. ” We will also have a small tent set up where people can sign up to enter and look around the facility. Times will be assigned from noon through 2:30 p.m. to those who sign up.”
The tours will not be formally guided. Instead, city staff, board members and volunteers will be on hand throughout the centre as people walk through.
“We look forward to seeing everyone on April 2,” Jolly added. “The event information will also be communicated through advertising and the city’s website and social media sites.”
Notably, the first day of business, meaning services like book checkout and public computer usage, won’t be available until Tuesday, April 3.
“April 2 is not a regular operating day for the Riverfront Centre,” Jolly clarified. “But city and library staff, along with library board and Trail Historical Society board members will be inside the facility to answer any questions.”
Representatives from the Trail and District Library as well as city staff have met weekly for the past six weeks to help ensure progress is being made on the various milestones associated with the completion and ultimate operation of the Trail Riverfront Centre by April.
The city is hosting an invite-only event for sponsors and major stakeholders in the Riverfront Centre on Friday April 6 from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
The building will be closed to the public during the recognition affair which will include a formal unveiling of donor walls.
“(This is) to show our appreciation on behalf of the citizens of Trail,” Santori said. “With the valuable contributions they have made to ensure that the Riverfront Centre did come to fruition, and I think those that attend will be extremely proud of what’s been accomplished at the facility.”