Chestermere’s fourth annual Seniors Week celebrated seniors in the community with a variety of activities beginning June 3 and running until June 8.
Throughout the week, seniors were encouraged to participate in talks, lunch and learns, paddleboard yoga, boat tours, ukulele lessons, community kitchen, Wellness Expo, taste of Chestermere, and games.
“It’s gone really well. I am dead tired, it’s been hectic on my part,” said Chestermere Whitecappers Vice President, and Chestermere Seniors Week Co-Chair Michael Ball.
The opening ceremony, a new ukulele try-it-out workshop, and community kitchen went exceptionally well, Ball said.
“I regretfully didn’t have a chance to take part in the ukulele workshop because I was busy attending to the community kitchen,” Ball added.
The community kitchen brought people together by creating various meals with the aim that everyone would be able to take the meals home with them for consumption the following week.
“It’s a really cool concept. It’s a more economical way of cooking, and more interesting rather than leftovers. Everyone agreed that it is a great idea,” Ball said.
The community kitchen is an initiative that the Chestermere Whitecappers are excited about and will be promoting in the future.
Along with the ukulele workshop, and community kitchen, the guided boat tours were a perineal hit among seniors during the week.
“I wasn’t involved last year, but I heard the boat tour had to be cancelled because the weather was so bad. This year has been just beautiful,” Ball said.
As a way to promote Seniors Week, a flash mob erupted during the Family Fun Fair on June 1st, and enveloped everyone around, Ball said.
The flash mob was initiated and organized by Chestermere Seniors Week Co-Chair Sharron Matthewman.
“The flash mob was cross-generational. We had seniors; we had Bollywood dancers, and Chestermere RCMP, it didn’t matter what walk of life people came from, or how old they were. They were all included,” Ball said.
He added, “For me, that’s what Seniors Week is about. It’s about our senior’s community bringing everybody together.”
Moving forward, Ball wants to make Seniors Week bigger and better for next year, by taking Seniors Week on the road and bringing activities to the surrounding communities.
Reflecting on Ball’s first Seniors Week, he enjoyed meeting new people and sharing experiences with everyone.
“I was at 99 per cent of the events. I met so many different people. It’s not always about the event; it’s about meeting people.
“That’s a highlight for me. I get a big kick out of meeting people, and having new experiences,” he said.
