Vernon’s Halina Centre is now old enough to get a membership with the Halina Centre!
The 50 and up Active Living Space, located with the Vernon Recreation Complex, welcomed residents from all over the city to celebrate its 50th birthday bash on Saturday, Sept. 17.
“The Halina Centre will remain a cornerstone across many generations” said Mayor Victor Cumming, who was one of the dignitaries present. “From what I can tell, there are plenty of reasons to celebrate the Halina light that will continue to shine for 50 more years.”
While the birthday bash was undoubtedly a celebration, it also served as the perfect time to recruit new members, according to president Diana Stanford.
“We just came out of COVID and a lot of the people who were active, both members and volunteers, are still not coming out, or they have aged out,” she said.
”Before COVID, Canasta for example (a form of the card game, rummy) would have 20 to 25 people playing. Now, there are just six. We need to at least double those numbers, as we have volunteers who spearheaded events like that.”
The Centre provides daily events and games, including the likes of pool, bingo, square dancing, Zumba, Tai Chi and ukulele classes.
At the birthday bash, the Vernon Kalamalka Chorus and Jerry the Juggler were just a few of the performances that attendees took in. A cake cutting was also done, with Cumming and Vernon Monashee MLA Harwinder Sandhu.
A yearly membership to the Halina Centre is just $25, with the majority of events costing just $3 to participate in.
Stanford’s goal of the club is to “keep seniors active, mentally, physically and socially.”
More information can be found at halinacentre.com.
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