Elders enjoy breakfast, bowling in Sandy Lake

More than 40 community Elders packed Sandy Lake’s Nishtum Head Start Centre for the Annual Elders Christmas Breakfast Dec. 7, complete with all the holiday decorations, games and gift-giving.
The community’s Home Care and Long Term Care program staff hosted the event, cooking a myriad of breakfast foods and overseeing the three hours of eating, activities and holiday cheer.
Program coordinator Donna Fiddler said Christmas events for the Elders have been celebrated annually for many years, but in recent years program staff have combined a number of separate events into the Christmas breakfast.
Breakfast included pancakes, Anishinabe toast, fresh fruit, bacon, roast ham, sausage, fruit juices, and coffee and tea by the gallon. Leftovers were non-existent as staff finished their meals and everyone prepared plates to take home.
The heavy competition began after breakfast, with the tables cleared to the side and the bowling pins set.
Everyone had a go at taking down the plastic pins. Winners were rewarded with special prizes and hearty applause.
The Elders breakfast followed the chief and council’s Christmas radio address and a number of other activities as the ‘kick-off’ events for Sandy Lake’s 2010 Christmas season.
A packed schedule of holiday events filled the entire month of December.
Both the Nishtum Head Start Centre and the Home Care and Long Term Care program are also preparing to celebrate related program improvements this year.
The Nishtum children’s program, located near the nursing station, will be moving into their brand new Children’s Centre in the new year.
Once that move is complete, the Home Care and Long Term Care programs will be moving into the old Nishtum facility, the site of this year’s Elders breakfast. Larger and better facilities for both programs will mean improved services and activities for Sandy’s most important residents – the Elders and children.