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Date: 1/9/2024
SOUTH HADLEY — All month long the South Hadley Senior Center will feature programs focused on diversity and learning about different cultures through a series titled Diversity: Embrace it, Share it, Celebrate it.
Senior Center Program Coordinator Sandy Farnsworth told Reminder Publishing her team decided that focusing a handful of January programs around diversity and learning about other cultures would be beneficial to the “homogeneous” makeup of the town.
“We realized we were not addressing all of South Hadley and certainly the seniors of South Hadley. In our attempt to do that we realized we need to offer more opportunities to all people,” Farnsworth said.
The first program related to this series was a meet and greet with artist Diego F. Salazar who was born in rural Colombia. Salazar met with Senior Center members and shared with them stories of his upbring and how his passion grew for abstract-surreal art.
On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the Center was visited by Metis Nation of North America and the Northern Narragansetts member Jennifer Lee who spoke about her life experience growing up without knowledge of her ancestry. She has spent her adult life learning and sharing the true history and culture of the Northeast Woodland Indigenous Peoples.
“We’re very isolated here and so we as comfortably as possible want to improve what we offer. Music does it [brings people together], music does it, and so those were the two easy things we could start with,” Farnsworth said about different events also featuring food and music from the culture hosting.
Farnsworth also shared the center has hosted Spanish classes for about the last year which has grown steadily as about a dozen senior center members have taken up the opportunity. She added hopes for growth in this area as the center has begun reaching out for instructors of other languages to potentially start another class.
On Tuesday, Jan. 16, the center will host an event to celebrate unity and diversity through a meal. Space is limited, but those interested in attending can get a free ticket at the senior center welcome desk.
This night will feature the South Hadley High School culinary department under the direction of Chef Adam Popp presenting the dinner of Puerto Rican cuisine with cooking collaborations from local chefs. Popp and his students will be working with local Puerto Rican chefs Jose Correa and Ivan Rodriguez. South Hadley High School students working with the chefs will be providing arroz con gandules as well as pernil, and a few different appetizers.
The event starts at 4:30 p.m. and at 5:30 p.m. a performance will be conducted by Bomba De Aqui, a music company that performs and teaches Afro-Puerto Rican traditions throughout the region.
“It’s all very exciting. New places for us to walk through. It’s great education and socialization. It’s all those things – everything that we want to provide through these programs as the South Hadley Senior Center,” Farnsworth said.
The following day on Jan. 17 and again on the Jan. 31, students from The MacDuffie School will host classes where senior center members can learn Chinese Mahjong with students. Chinese Mahjong is a game in which players match or sequence sets of tiles. The game has been referred to as China’s “national pastime” according to Time magazine.
Friday, Jan. 19, at 1 p.m. will feature a class on Germany in the 21st century. Leading this program will be Donna Van Handle, a retired professor of German studies at Mount Holyoke College. The program will offer an overview of the political and cultural climate in present day Germany, including a reflection on the country’s past and its impact on life today.
The final event of the month will feature a performance by WOFA, the West African drum and dance group featuring the students of the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School. This will take place on Friday, Jan. 26, at 1 p.m.
To review more of the Senior Center’s January programming, visit southhadley.org/324/Council-on-Aging.
“Again, it’s the education, socialization, the process of being challenged, the process of learning. Walking away saying, ‘you know, that was a great opportunity.’ This is absolutely key to keeping a vibrant program going,” Farnsworth said about programs at the Senior Center.