Program Ideas

This page documents planned and possible future monthly programs.

After we've done them, these get recorded on the page Program History

2025

February

9: Halifax Cops Volunteers Seniors' Home Safety Program, Frauds & Scams Presentation. Contact: "Miller, Delthia" <millerde@halifax.ca>. Producer: Dan

23 : Health Equity Alliance of Nova Scotia (HEAL NS), previously known as the AIDS Coalition of Nova Scotia. queer health campaign centered around a personalised sexual health checklist tool. Contact Olivia Kerr <TO.recruiter2@eastlink.ca>. They'll bring some snacks - TBA.

March

maybe Marjorie Lynn, Family Service Counselor, JA Snow Funeral Home, marjorie.lynn@dignitymemorial.com

9: Annual General Meeting. Entertainment: Annapolis Valley playwright, film writer and actor https://lorimer.ca/childrens/product/luscious-love/Youth Adult author Katerina Bakolias <katerina.bakolias@gmail.com>

31: 10am - noon: Focus Group on Seniors’ Safety in the HRM. At: Halifax Central Library. Prod: Stacey Colliver <stacey@ccfsc-cccs.ca>

April

13: SSS: domestic violence.

27: Chair Yoga by Kaitlin

May

11 : Maybe Marshall Haywood

25: Speaker Training

June

Men's Health Month. Contact Olivia Kerr.

8: Board Games, perhaps at Rumours, hosted by Kaitlin

In 2023, Eric Bickerdyke (or maybe Kevin Dadouse) suggested we invite the chair of South Shore Pride to join us and make a presentation about their plans for Pride, which was scheduled for early July. Steve Ellis came and spoke May 14. I seem to remember that as a result a van load from Halifax went down to the day of their March (or maybe that was last year). Might we be interested in having Steve or someone he could suggest for June 08? In fact, since his talk was only about 15 minutes, maybe we could have Truro at the same time. If they chose to send an elder, we could do some in-person networking.

Summer

Harbour Breezes Daylilies in Head of Jeddore (Contact: Allan Banks via Lynn.) His garden sales include two cultivars which he created himself : Gay Harmony and Pink Triangle. Gay Harmony was named by the Halifax Gay Men's Chorus, and all proceeds from the sale of this plant go to the Chorus.

July

21 4-6pm: Pride Elders Hangout, hosted by the Elderberries. Producer probably Dan.

Future

• Alzheimer Society of NS: Kirstie Creighton <kirstie.creighton@asns.ca> has offered to come in.
• Navigating Nova Scotia government services, prod Renée, Marie Claire Chartrand GreyWave Consulting, to help families navigate these transitions. Her wife, Nancy, is one of our social workers here at Northwood.
• Massage for the Elderly: producer Kaitlin: Jeremy Richard
• Board game outing at the Board Room Café
• an escape room adventure at Trapped 1313 Barrington or Captured Escape Rooms 1648 Barrington
• Bowling?
• Do they have tour guides giving group tours of the Art Gallery of NS?
• Gerald McCowan: talk about what it was like to create "the new" Rumours
• Barend’s Métis friend Muriel speak about being Métis.
• Board games (2 votes)
• Have Robert Wright back to speak more, he has a lot to share; we want to learn more. The question is: which topic(s) next time? Should we take a poll of the membership?
• During Pride, from a survey "Elders Ideas For Pride" in 2021:
  • Halifax Youth Project / Elderberries: "What's it like to be a youth these days? (with food)
  • Not So Secret March
  • Human Library
  • Elder Hop again
  • See if we can get that little golf cart train thing in the parade for anyone who doesn’t want to walk.
  • Meet with a group of Northwood residents and ask about top issues for people living in long-term care, and then co-sponsor a workshop on that
  • Something outside! Go to an exhibition baseball game? Dressed as Cheerleaders?
  • A Tribute to Rainbow Refugees
  • "A HGMC & Women Next Door concert & dance"
  • Something for the LGBTQ2+ Community in the USA.
  • Lesbian Jell-O Wrestling
  • "How about a ""Mask-erade / Glove-In"", where there is an organized street cleanup (including the drifting PPE) which is also an excuse to dress any way the participant pleases? Naming it ""Mask-erade"" would likely invite some creative dress options. Yes! Also serves the purpose of community involvement - I recall some challenges a couple years ago with internal politics that question the week for a lot of people."
• Dr Bob: talk about life in Florida in the age of Desantis
• Barend: about the underbelly of my time in Japan
• Repair Café: bring your broken things and we'll have a team of people to asses and maybe fix them.
• Go to the Church of Our Lady of Lebanon with Lynette Richards to see her stained glass work.
• Dealing with assumptions that when you're older, you're incompetent.
• Paula: Overview of Legal Documents For Seniors
• Craft Show - bring your own crafts, talk about your craft hobby
• Talk about our careers
• Special event for newcomers (maybe do this once a year) introductions if you want, some history, how Elderberries works.
• Get a member to share their life story ... or an event where we share biographies of other people
• get a drag queen to show how she puts on her makeup
• Anita: The place in Inverness that has the equipment for the disabled
• Hospice Halifax would like to talk to us Linden Hardie <l.hardie@hospicehalifax.ca> Social Work Coordinator, Hospice Halifax p: 902-446-0929
• Matt Numer has offered to do a presentation about "New Technologies and Chemical Culture: Examining Deployment and Effects Among Men Having Sex with Men".
• Robert Wright: How can white folk be allies to the black & gay community in Halifax.
• Sexual Harassment and strategies to deal with it -- telling our stories. Ask Georgina if she would be the moderator - $50?
• Hal Walsh: tell us the story of your experience with Dr Tench, head of the Abby J Lane / Halifax Mental
• Cindy Kemp, Kemp, Cindy <Cindy.Kemp@Dignitymemorial.com> I am a Family Service Advisor with Dignity Memorial. I serve the communities for JA Snow, Mattatall and Cruikshanks Funeral homes in Halifax and Dartmouth. Funeral pre-planning. Discount offered to us.
• Pajama Party!!
• JJ And His Embroidery
• Tuma & Nick & their pictures and travels
• Tuma: Some element of two-spirit culture - or smudging, or something.
• Review 2017-02-12 Meeting and actually do something to invite the People of Colour Communities
• Vance: Plato lecture
• Vance: Introduction to Topology
• Homophobia in our families
• My favourite scents
• Pride - pick a topic
• Barend's friend Muriel: Métis, raconteur, musician, tell a story about being Métis.
• Survey results
• Building community
• Another photo / history discussion
• Content ideas: Gerard Veldhoven. WAYNE will contact him about maybe coming in again some time.
• Music: Ukelele Mike
• Positives of Aging
• Photos & Videos: our stories
• Workshop on preserving photos and other community or family material
• Animals in our lives
• Racism in our GBLTQ+ community. How can/do we oppose it?
• Indigenous Issues and Culture

No Longer Relevant

• Event in Bernadine Lapointe's garden (Anita)
• Picnic at Dr Bob Fredericson's place in Terrance Bay - he invited us.
• Seth from the NSRAP Health Committee health@nsrap.ca - trans health. Wife Anna does sexual health education. Idea: 1) asking members to think about healthcare needs in advance of the meeting, 2) roundtable collection of people’s ideas of healthcare needs, 3) discussion of, say, the top 10, which gets recorded, and 4) making a report out of that
• Patricia Martinson: Her book - about it, and read something from it.
• Bethana Sullivan: what do you do?
• Jean Gravelline OR Fyre Jean & partner: what do you do?

Projects

• Another cookbook
• Calendar
• Coffee mugs