NEWS RELEASE
DIVERSITYCANADA FOUNDATION
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Elliot Lake seniors will put their artistic and musical talents on display in a new activity during Winterfest 2020.
Close to a hundred seniors are set to participate in the first-ever Seniors’ Showcase on Saturday, Feb. 29 at Collins Hall from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Highlights include a winter craft market, demonstrations of various arts and crafts, displays of miniature railroads, as well as miniature historical figurines, and musical entertainment, all performed by seniors.
Admission is free and visitors of all ages are welcome to this event which can be enjoyed on the Elliot Lake Winterfest weekend.
“It’s like a seniors’ show-and-tell,” said Jim Graham, who will serve as master of ceremonies. “It’s a celebration of seniors in which we showcase their skills and talents. We’re inviting everyone to come out and join us in celebrating our seniors.”
The event is organized by the DiversityCanada Foundation, an Elliot Lake not-for-profit, formed in 2004, which has been providing opportunities for seniors to remain active and fully integrated in the community for many years.
The Seniors’ Showcase is part of a day of activities to mark the culmination of DiversityCanada’s Elliot Lake Seniors’ Memories Project. Through the project, which began in March of 2019, trained volunteers guided some 100 seniors in videotaping and preserving their family histories and life stories. Participants in the project will receive copies of their interviews at an invitation-only event which will also take place later in the day on February 29 at Collins Hall.
“We’ve had participants who were born here or came here as children when Elliot Lake was a mining town,” said Celia Sankar, DiversityCanada’s executive director. “We’ve also heard stories from people who now call Elliot Lake home but who’ve come from other parts of Ontario, other provinces, and many other countries. This little city in the wilderness is blessed with a rich pool of humanity.”
Participants in the Elliot Lake Seniors’ Memories Project, as well as seniors from the general public, will be involved in the Seniors’ Showcase. They are expected to display and offer for sale art and craft items such as paintings, woodwork, jewellery, candles, quilts, knitted wear, leathercraft, buttons, gift cards, and baked goods.
Musical entertainment will be provided by the barbershop/a cappella chorus Jewels & Gents, the Wednesday Afternoon Guitarists (WAGS), and individual performers such as Fern McCoy, Denis Morel, Perry Tucker, Roger Legacy, and Bruce Campbell.
The Elliot Lake Seniors’ Memories Project is sponsored in part by the Government of Canada’s New Horizons for Seniors Program. The project has also received local support from ELNOS, the City of Elliot Lake, Tim Hortons, Northern Lights Bowling Centre, Shoppers Drug Mart, Rexall, Foodland, Kathy’s Brew Haha, and Melanie’s Liquidation House. Additionally, employees of TD Bank and Canada Post, as well as individuals in the community raised funds by participating in a Bowl-A-Thon held last June.
For the Winterfest, a free shuttle bus will run between Collins Hall (where the Seniors’ Showcase will be held and parking is available), the Centennial Arena (where parking will be available), and Spruce Beach (where outdoor Winterfest activities will take place). Public transport is also available as the regular city buses stop right outside Collins Hall.
“We’d like to encourage seniors to be active, to get out and socialize, and engage with each other and with other generations,” master of ceremonies Graham said. “It’s good for their health and it’s always beneficial, especially in the winter, as it can help chase away any winter blues.”
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