Residents enjoy a night on the town
Wednesday November 7, 2007 -- Deron Hamel
Five residents from Kentwood Park were treated to a Nov. 3 performance of “Anne of Green Gables” at the Mt. Tabor Community Playhouse in Milford.

Linda Sheppard, the Picton long-term care home’s life enrichment co-ordinator, says although it was a late night for the residents, they all had a great time and were still talking about days later.

Everyone, she says, enjoyed the performance, which was put on by theatre troupe The Marysburgh Mummers.

“We had five very contented and happy people, because they were out there in the community,” says Sheppard.

The outing was the first time Sheppard had taken residents to a play, but she says it won’t be the last.

Sheppard says she got the idea for the outing after seeing a promotional poster in the home’s staffroom.

“I was standing there looking at it and thinking about it and our administrator (Tina Cole), came up and said, ‘Why don’t you take them?’ And I looked at her and said, ‘Why don’t I?’” recalls Sheppard.

For resident Verla Whattam, the outing had special significance. She and her husband, Norm, had long been avid theatre-goers, says Sheppard. Norm joined the group for the evening, and the couple ran into several acquaintances.

“For (Verla) it was a social event, because she knew everybody,” says Sheppard. “She was very big into theatre when she lived in the community.”

Sheppard notes that the theatre’s staff was accommodating and helped ensure the residents had an enjoyable evening by making room for wheelchairs and lending a hand wherever needed.

The trip to the theatre marked the first time resident Sandy VanIhinger had been to see a play in a theatre.

“It was wonderful; I would love to go back to another,” she says. “It was very, very well done.”

The event also served as an opportunity to show the community OMNI’s commitment to residents living in its homes, Sheppard points out.

“We had the OMNI van (and) it made us visible in the community,” she says. “It’s raising the level of awareness about OMNI homes in the area, in particular Kentwood Park.”