Garrison Market won't be returning to Fredericton this summer

Fredericton's popular night market will not be running this summer.

TheGarrison Night Market, which started out as a pilot projectin2018, won't be reopening this year because of Public Health'sCOVID-19 protocol.

The decision was announced by the city's tourism staff last month following a previous post in April saying the market in the former military garrison downtown was still planning to open.

"While we remain very supportive of the province's COVID protocols, which have made New Brunswick one of the safest jurisdictions in the world, current regulations mean operating this season in a reasonable manner is impossible," the city's tourism department said in a Facebook post.

The Thursday night market typically saw between 8,000 and 10,000 visitors, which "adds a complexity to operating in a COVID environment," the post said.

The market included everything from local and imported handmade productsto art andfine crafts andlocally grown produce. The marketalso offeredlocal micro-brews, ciders and sprits, and there was live entertainment.

If the market were to go ahead, the city would need to limit the number of visitors, as well as limit lineups to venders and ensure two metres of distance between vendors and patrons.

"We recognize this is hard news for both our vendors and patrons (and trust us, we're not happy with this either)," the city said in its post.

"However public safety continues to be our primary concern."