Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games - Opening Ceremonies

I did a six hour plus drive yesterday.  I drove up to Edmonton to register for the Alberta 55 Plus Winter Games.  I am entered in the Scrabble Competition representing Zone 1 which is the Sunny South.

My cousin and I found our way to the Expo Centre and enjoyed the opening ceremonies.  Members of the Kingsway Legion were the Honour Guard and they carried in the flags.

Each of the 8 zones presented their banners and we joined the Koro Filipino Choir and sang Oh Canada.  

The Koro Filipino Choir sang a few numbers before leaving the stage.  They were great and had us all clapping and tapping our feet as they sang familiar tunes.  

Next on the program were greetings from the City of Edmonton and then a message given by Chief Wilton Littlechild.  He had just returned from Rome where he had the opportunity to speak to Pope Francis.  Chief Littlechild is a residential school survivor and he was happy to report how encouraged he was when Pope Frances said he was very sorry for the things that happened to so many of the First Nations, Metis and Inuit people of Canada.  Chief Littlechild is also a member of Alberta 55 Plus and he told us to enjoy our time together at the games.  He said he wished he was competing this weekend too but his sport is swimming and that takes place in the Summer Games.  

Next came the saying of the Participants’ Oath which is - ‘In the name of all competitors, I pledge that we will take part in the Alberta 55 Plus Games in the true spirit of sportsmanship, respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, for the glory of sport and the honour of our teams.’ 

The Entertainment for the night were the Shumka Dancers. The Shumka School of Dance was established in 1989.  The school has trained thousands of young dancers to achieve a broad dance-focused skill set, performance excellence, and a strong work ethic.  The School is a welcoming and safe place for youth of all ethnic backgrounds to establish and achieve their artistic dreams.  At the school they are given the tools and the experience to become future community leaders and builders. More than 250 students are part of the Shumka School and its programs.  

The Ukrainian Shumka Dancers were a delight to watch and we were reminded of the people of Ukraine and the difficult times happening in Ukraine  at this time.

Vivian and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening. My picture captured the ending to a wonderful evening.

# living life abundantly      # published author