INNISFAIL – The weather in the afternoon of June 3 was cool with growing ominous clouds that threatened rain.
But the crowd at the Innisfail and District Historical Village were smiling anyway.
There was pie, ice cream, and music.
“The Saskatoon pie from the Jungle Farm explodes in your mouth. It's so tasty,” said 83-year-old Keith Ible. “It's a real good event to come, and it doesn't cost us any money.”
And as he munched on his pie, The Silence in B’tween band from Calgary played on.
“We just love seniors. They're like little kids who still want to be alive and get out there and do stuff and they like the songs,” said John Hodgson, the band’s vocalist, and rhythm guitar player. “We like them. It's a win-win for both parties."
Alberta was celebrating Seniors’ Week from June 2 to 8, and Innisfail’s Mayor’s Garden Party was once again honouring its most cherished citizens with a full, fun, and engaging afternoon party.
“You'll see the folks singing away the lyrics with us, which is great,” said keyboard player Marc Lamontagne, whose band performs to more than 100 shows a year to seniors. “And they love dancing and just tapping their feet and just getting with the music.”
The event, organized by the Town of Innisfail, has been a time-honoured event since 1978 when former mayor and councillor Doug Fee decided to engage the town’s seniors with a special get together in his backyard.
Fee’s inspired backyard gathering was a success and 47 years later it has become a late spring season must-attend event for both the young and old.
In fact, a whole team of the younger generation from the Innisfail High School and Servus Credit Union volunteered their time to ensure the event’s ongoing success.
“It's always been a popular event,” said Coun. Gavin Bates, a retired plant manager at Johns Manville, who knew Fee well when the latter was the plant’s employee relations manager. “It's just great to see people that you maybe haven't seen since last year.”
The annual celebration for seniors at the historical village has always been special for Mayor Jean Barclay, was who busy throughout serving Jungle Farm pie to seniors and engaging in heartfelt chit-chat.
“It's one of my favourite events of the year. It's always so much fun having the seniors come out and enjoy the day. I absolutely love seeing the residents from Rosefield (Centre) come down and have the staff bring them. I think that's such a special, special touch,” said Barclay.
“It's an annual event that everybody looks forward to, and fantastic music as usual.
“And it’s just way for us to say thank you to the seniors for all they've done. Many of them I have known my whole life, and that makes it even more special.”
