Swift Current seniors have a reason to celebrate as the beloved Senior Tea is set to make a grand comeback after a two-year hiatus.
The tea party, organized by the Chinook Regional Library, is a cherished tradition which has not taken place in the community since before the pandemic.
Connor Kurtz, the Swift Current branch manager for the Chinook Regional Library, expressed his excitement about the event's return.
“It has been gone since 2019, the next year was 2020, the pandemic.” he stated.” “Our organization had been in a decent bit of transition and adapting to COVID restrictions and that sort of thing, nd so this year was the first time we had enough lead time and go time that we have been able to organize things and reach out to our local seniors and care centers to let them know the events coming back to the library.”
The event, which is exclusively for seniors, will take place this afternoon and requires registration to attend.
Each year, the library staff dedicates this annual gathering to express gratitude to the city's senior residents for their patronage and participation, particularly in the seniors outreach program.
This year's Senior Tea promises to be exceptional, featuring guest speaker, Henry Friesen.
Friesen will captivate the audience with a fascinating talk on the history of the Swift Mennonite reserve and the migration of the community to Mexico.
The Senior Tea is sponsored by Pioneer Coop, and Kurtz expressed his sincere appreciation for their support.
The event is free of charge, as it aims to reach out to seniors who are part of the senior outreach program or are unable to visit the library often due to various circumstances.
For Kurtz, the return of such community events signifies the library's revival within Swift Current.
“It means for me the library is back in our community, as so many of our organizations are,” he expressed. “It does signify, as we've seen across the community with things as they've been reopening over the past couple of years, that we’re out of the woods and that while we're still dealing with the reality that COVID left us, we are in the post-COVID world now and it is a time when we can really get back to reconnecting with one another and breaking down those barriers that we had built up for health and safety reasons.
For more information on how to register, contact the Swift Current Branch of the Chinook Regional Library at (306) 778-2752.