New Brunswick’s Largest Play Space Reopens After Five Month Closure

MONCTON – A local business that helps to keep kids active and entertained, has finally reopened.

Hop Skip Jump in Moncton closed its doors on March 17 due to Covid-19. Space Manager Desiree Brown says they just reopened on August 7th.

“We wanted to be sure that everything was done absolutely correctly. Hop Skip Jump has always been about being clean, well before everything happened with Covid-19. So now more than ever, we are getting back to normal, and cleaning heavier than ever,” she says.

Brown says hours have been adjusted, and the day has now been split into two sessions with an hour in between for cleaning.

“We are now open from 10 am to 2 pm. We close from 2 pm to 3 pm for a thorough cleaning and then reopen from 3 pm to 7 pm,” Brown says.

They have also reduced their capacity to 30 percent, that’s to a maximum of around 130 people in the building at a time.

“That sounds like a big number, but with the space we have, that is very spread out. We haven’t even come close to capacity yet, so it’s nice to see that everyone is doing a slow transition. We are starting to get a little busier,” Brown says.

Masks are not mandatory, but they are recommended in high contact areas. Temperatures are taken when kids and parents enter the centre.

“We take everyone’s temperature when they come into the building, and explains the restrictions at the Centre due to COVID-19,” Brown says.

Hop Skip Jump opened in Moncton in December 2017, and being forced to close for five months has had an impact.

“The closure was definitely a surprise, but we are taking one day at a time as are all businesses right now, and we are working closely with Public Health officials to ensure everything is as safe as possible,” Brown says.

She says they were fortunate that the majority of their twenty employees have returned after the closure.

Hop Skip Jump is New Brunswick’s largest play space, with a fully functional arcade, twelve climbing walls that can be accessed by children and adults and a very large play structure. It also has a fully functional cafe.

Tara Clow is the news director with The Bend 91.9, a Huddle content partner.