Oak Park Senior Living celebrated summer with a “balcony serenade” on a beautiful, sunny afternoon recently. Musician Michael Riddle performed a 30-minute show on each side of our building. Residents came out onto their balconies to listen and boogie down with Michael and his “backup dancers” (a.k.a. Oak Park’s activity staff and Residence Director, Terri Pratt). Everyone had a great time and we’re all looking forward to another serenade soon!
Oak Park Senior Living celebrated the 2020 Saint Paul Winter Carnival with several special events. The tenants spent part of the week searching for the winter medallion, which was found by the husband and wife team of Fran and Karen Celski. Monroe Wright also stopped by for some live entertainment and to help us crown our Winter Carnival royalty.
Here are this year’s winners:
King – Russ Corbitt
Queen – Ginny Schneider
Royal Court – Joe French, Sue Jorgenson, Ellen Niblo and Warren Lorenz.
Congratulations to all of our Winter Carnival royalty!
Oak Park Senior Living spent a gloomy afternoon with entertainer Kent Appeldoorn. Kent had everyone laughing, tapping their toes, singing, and dancing. Music is a fun way to pass the time on rainy days! ???
For a very special project last week, several tenants spent time coloring in artwork to be sent to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) all across the country. These pictures are placed on the incubators of premature or sick newborns to provide comfort and support to their families. A family member here at Oak Park connected us with an artist who designs the cards and will be in charge of distributing them.
This week Oak Park Senior Living had a “Christmas in July” celebration. Tenants broke out their best Christmas attire and joined together for some Christmas cheer. We sang Christmas carols, played some Christmas trivia, and enjoyed peppermint cheesecake and hot cocoa. Everyone agreed best part of the day was not having to put up with any snow or below zero temperatures!! ???
Oak Park Senior Living ventured out to watch the St. Paul Saints play the Kansas City T-Bones. The theme for the day was “The Wizard of Oz.” Everyone enjoyed watching all the fun between innings fun and, of course, the pig mascot. While the Saints unfortunately lost 2-1, everyone agreed it was a very fun day at the park! ⚾️⚾️⚾️
The youth choir from Grace Baptist Church stopped by this week to sing for our tenants. Everyone enjoyed spending time visiting with the children, and we especially loved the wonderful songs they sang for us ??
The tenants at Oak Park Senior Living spent the day in the Caribbean. In spirit, anyway. ? We celebrated our first picnic of the season with grilled hot dogs, burgers, and brats. In the afternoon, we had a steel drum player stop by to share some “sounds of the islands”. Everyone enjoyed the beautiful sounds this Caribbean drum makes. Several tenants got an up-close and personal look at the drums and how they work. What a great day in the “Caribbean”!
This week Monroe Wright III visited Oak Park to entertain us with his special brand of music. The tenants enjoyed singing and clapping along to some favorite tunes!
Tenants at Oak Park Senior Living welcomed summer with a happy hour toast. Later we enjoyed music with Wayne and the Boys. As always, Wayne had us singing, dancing, and clapping along to great music. Welcome, summer – we’re so happy you’re finally here!
Tenants at Oak Park love coming together for happy hour on Friday afternoons. Everyone enjoys listening to music provided by our resident DJ Roger, sharing a few laughs, and, of course, having some refreshments! ?
Last Wednesday, Oak Park tenants enjoyed entertainment by Kent Appeldoorn. Kent brought along a couple special guests – Elvis and his cousin, Ennis – to get everyone laughing, singing, and dancing along to some favorites from the ’50s and ’60s. ????
At Oak Park Senior Living, our tenants love holiday fun and giving back to the community. Several tenants got together to make holiday cards for the children at Gillette Children’s Hospital. The tenants have made this an annual event. Not only do they get to do a fun project, but they are bringing a bit of holiday fun and cheer to children that are not able to be home for the holidays.
On December 12th, Oak Park held its annual holiday party. Tenants and their families enjoyed festive music and fabulous food prepared by our talented kitchen staff. Everyone young and old had a fun evening spent with family and friends.
A few days ago, Kent Appeldoorn was here to entertain our residents with his Christmas show. The community room was packed, so Connie ended up sitting on her rolling walker. I noticed that she was singing and swaying to the music, so I asked her to dance with me. She said “Why not?” and started dancing while sitting on her rolling walker. We were dancing to Mack the Knife. Connie was having the best time and so were all the residents and the staff who participated.
Click here for the video!
Read MoreRecent fun at Oak Park Senior Living included celebrating Oktoberfest and a performance from a’Choir’d Harmony Community Choir.
Oak Park Senior Living celebrated Oktoberfest on Friday, Sept. 28th. We started out the festivities with an authentic German meal prepared by Chef Joel and his wonderful staff.
In the afternoon, the Squires Band came to entertain us with Oktoberfest music. As you can see from the pictures, everyone had a great time singing and clapping along. There were quite a few residents up on their feet and dancing! Of course, what would an Oktoberfest celebration be without beer? Residents enjoyed sampling a variety of specially brewed Oktoberfest beer.
PROST!!! (That’s German for cheers.)
Last night the a’Choir’d Harmony Community Choir stopped by Oak Park Senior Living to share their “Swingin’ Thru the Years” concert. Residents enjoyed music from the 1920s through today. Songs included hits from Irving Berling, Glen Miller, Dean Martin, and Michael Buble. The highlight of the evening was Cab Calloway’s “Minnie the Moocher,” complete with the soloist in top hat and tails.
Oak Park Senior Living held its first SENIOR PROM. Residents enjoyed music from Wayne and the Boys, a scrumptious dessert, champagne, and dancing. Volunteers from Shepherd of the Valley assisted with decorating, doing makeup for the ladies, and escorting residents to and from the prom. Everyone enjoyed being a “teenager” for the evening and can’t wait until next year’s prom.
