Only one day after the final evacuation orders had been rescinded in Abbotsford, two popular businesses along Highway 1 have announced their intentions to reopen their doors to the public.
The Clarion Hotel and Conference Centre is the first to resume operations, although with some limitations, said general manager Daniel Laverick.
“The conference centre was more heavily impacted by the flooding and will require a few additional days to complete repairs,” said Laverick.
“We are working closely with our restoration partners to ensure that the facility is safe and ready for our upcoming events.”
The hotel portion of the business opened back up on Thursday, Dec. 18, with announcements about the conference centre expected to be released soon.
Castle Fun Park, which has also been hit especially hard by past floods, released its own reopening date of Friday, Dec. 26.
Owner Brian Wiebe said that the arcade, bumper cars, and go-karts will all be available on Boxing Day.
“We’re deeply thankful for the incredible support from our community and immensely proud of the effort from our team,” said Wiebe. “We’re excited to welcome guests back and look forward to a fun, festive season ahead.”
He said that the amusement park is able to reopen much faster this time compared to the last major flood in 2021 due to a perimeter wall and the efforts of several dedicated people.
“After the 2021 flood, we built a concrete lock-block wall with some waterproof materials to keep the surface water at bay,” said Wiebe. “This past weekend was extremely close to the water height in 2021, but the wall held it back.”
Volunteers also brought in more than a dozen sump pumps and ran them overnight to prevent the water from breaching the wall.
“This year, we had some damage, but nothing catastrophic.”
Even before this recent flooding, Castle Fun Park had still not fully recovered from the 2021 floods, with Wiebe saying the delay in fully reopening was due to the facility’s decision to make significant upgrades.
“We’ve chosen to rebuild something that’s even better than before,” said Wiebe.
“For the past several years, we’ve been working to reimagine the park and design a place for the next generation of families to build their memories, but it has been a long and painful process with many setbacks, and much of it has been out of our direct control.”
However, the finish line is growing nearer, and Wiebe said the public can expect some exciting new announcements relatively soon.
Tourism Abbotsford executive director Clare Seeley said she was happy to see such important pieces of the local tourism industry reopen so soon after yet another significant flood.
“I am impressed by the speed and determination that our tourism partners have demonstrated on the heels of a second flood in only four years,” said Seeley.