It felt good to be at Ontario Place on Monday.

That’s where Lisa MacLeod, Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries is establishing a haven for the people of this province starved for entertainment.

As things slowly reopen — phase three is delayed again for Toronto — Ontario Place will be used for various festivals and events that people can enjoy safely.

MacLeod announced drive-in movies, live music and other recreational activities will now be available at the iconic waterfront location.

She stressed that physical distancing, masks, hand-washing and all other safety protocols would continue and be enforced at Ontario Place, just as they are elsewhere in the province.

At a press gathering near the jumbo drive-in screen at Ontario Place, MacLeod and several members of the entertainment industry spoke of their efforts to maintain space for the arts and for socializing in the midst of a pandemic.

MacLeod oversees a “suite of sectors” that bring $75 billion into the province annually.

She said some $20 billion has been lost from arts, culture and tourism since the pandemic began.

The province is giving $2 million to keep Ontario Place open to the pubic for the next year, even as the facility’s future is being decided — Ontario Place is due for an overhaul and refurbishment, but its eventual fate is unknown. 

It closed in 2012. Some revitalization has already happened, with Trillium Park and the 1.3 km. William G. Davis Trail creating a new waterfront green space out of an old parking lot.

MacLeod reiterated Monday that neither condos nor a casino would be part of the new Ontario Place.

And in the meantime, Ontario Place will be able to host events such as the Lavazza Film Festival, which opens tonight with the award-winning Canadian film, The Cuban.

Director Sergio Navarretta spoke Monday about what it meant to him, as a Canadian filmmaker, to see The Cuban have its premiere at this new and innovative festival which was created by the Italian Contemporary Film Festival and CHIN in response to the exigencies of COVID-19.

Entertainment entrepreneurs Farley Flex and Jeffrey Latimer introduced Toronto Shines, which will bring live entertainment (music and comedy) and some films to Ontario Place through October. 

There will be a jazz festival on site at Trillium Park in September, and free drive-in movies for the month of October.

Cameron Bailey and Joana Vicente, co-heads of the Toronto International Film Festival, spoke about being able to hold physical screenings during TIFF at the Ontario Place drive-in.

This year’s film fest will be leaner and much of it will be digital, but at the drive-in, as Cameron Bailey said, you have a safe environment to experience, “The audience sense of connection found at the movies.”

It’s a connection a lot of people have missed over the last four months.

What was evident at the press conference Monday is the amount of work that has gone into trying to preserve everything possible of the city’s arts and cultural events in the middle of a global pandemic. 

The thing about Ontario Place, MacLeod stressed, is that people can go there and know they will be safe. 

She addressed the fact that many people are still nervous about venturing out, which will be one of the main hurdles on the road to economic recovery.

MacLeod said that for every dollar put into a festival in this province,  $24 comes back.

Ontario Place represents just one initiative designed to aid the economic recovery of arts and entertainment and hospitality in the province.

Now it’s up to people to venture out …  for now, 6-feet apart, of course.

And a mask couldn’t hurt.