Drumheller businesses handing out "Dino Bucks" to mask-wearers

If you’re heading to Drumheller for a road trip this summer, you’ll want to bring a face mask with you.

It’s not that the town has enacted a mandatory mask bylaw like Calgary, Edmonton, and Banff saw earlier this month in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19, but rather you’ll have a chance at picking yourself up some Dino Bucks.

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This very real currency is the creation of the Drumheller Council, which decided that, instead of threatening visitors and residents with tickets for not wearing masks, they would instead give people a reason to want to wear them.

(…Other than the whole protecting-those-around-you-from-the-virus thing, that is.)

“Enforcing the wearing of masks through a bylaw is challenging in a community as spread out as the Drumheller Valley and requires significant resources to achieve compliance. We think a better alternative is to reward those who are wearing masks instead,” said Darryl Drohomerski, CAO of the Town of Drumheller, in the release.

“We wanted to find a positive way to encourage people to wear masks rather than using enforcement.”

Businesses throughout Drumheller Valley have been allocated a portion of Dino Bucks, which are being handed out to people wearing masks and used at participating stores as though they’re cash.

The council invested $5,000 into a total of 1,000 Dino Bucks, all carrying a value of $5 — retailers will be compensated 90%, or $4.50, of every Dino Buck.

“The joy of this program is that it also supports local business and encourages people to maybe visit stores they haven’t visited before,” said Drumheller Mayor Heather Colberg in the release.

The program will run from August 7 to September 30.