Canada 150, what a year it was!
LINKages kicked off our celebrations of Canada 150 with the opening of our ‘Sharing Intergenerational Stories Contest’. This contest was open to youth ages 30 or under and adults 55+ to inspire youth and seniors to connect and share stories of Canada, while learning from one another in the process. We were very excited to see some of the amazing projects that were to come.
LINKages paid special attention to two milestone events in 2017, World Heritage Month and Canada Day. LINKages celebrated World Hertiage Month in April with an exciting Festival of performers and traditional food from different countries to acknowledge Canada’s diverse cultural heritage. There was even a puppet play about Canada’s history put on by youth volunteers and seniors! Everyone came together to enjoy this fun, multicultural, and intergenerational event.
All of the submissions for our Canada 150 Contest were incredible and showed the creativity that comes from intergenerational friendships. As the contest came to a close, winners of our Canada 150 contest were chosen and given their prizes. LINKages heard some amazing decisions for what the seniors and youth should do with their prize. One such example was a group who collectively decided to donate their prize back to LINKages, so that more intergenerational programs such as the one they attended can happen. LINKages staff were truly touched!
We also celebrated an early Canada Day in June with a special Canada 150 celebration and wrap up of our intergenerational contest at the Core Shopping Centre downtown. This fun, entertaining and free event had everything from stilt walkers and magicians, to airbrush tattoos and Indian folk dancing! Winners of our Canada 150 Contest had their projects displayed for everyone to see the amazing work they had completed. Youth volunteers and seniors both enjoyed the festivities and helped complete a quote poster full of ‘Reasons We Love Canada.’
Thank you to everyone who was involved in our events and contest this year! We had so much fun and we hope you did too. Canada 150 has been the best opportunity to learn from intergenerational friendships because celebrating youth and seniors is celebrating Canada. If you’d like to know more about the benefits of youth and senior friendships, or to hear more about LINKages intergenerational programming, don’t hesitate to let us know! Contact us through facebook, Instagram, or twitter, or you can email info@link-ages.ca.