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Elders love bingo

Roxanna Thompson
Northern News Services
Thursday, July 12, 2007

FORT SIMPSON - It's surprising what goes together with bingo.

NNSL Photo/Graphic

Armed with a bingo dauber, Felix Tale is just one of the elders in Fort Simpson who will take advantage of any excuse to play a game of bingo. - Roxanna Thompson/NNSL photo

On July 5, clients of long-term care and homecare in Fort Simpson were treated to the latest instalment of the monthly birthday bingo bashes.

Starting at the end of May, a celebration has been held every month to recognize the birthdays of the elders who were born during that month. The most recent celebration was for the June babies including Marilynn Lee, William Hardisty, Felix Tale, Karilynn Hardisty, Archie Villeneuve and Terry Anderson.

To get people into the birthday mood for the party, the long-term care facility was decorated cheerfully for the occasion with balloons, streamers, tablecloths, a pinata and a banner.

People were served from platters of fresh fruit and vegetables and given cups of festive punch. For people with a sweet tooth there were also two birthday cakes.

The entertainment at each of these birthday bashes is bingo.

Clustered around tables, each elder was armed with a bingo dauber and four cards. Volunteers were standing ready to lend assistance as Janice Hillaby called numbers.

Bingo is a popular activity among the elders who will take advantage of any excuse to play a game or two, said Hillaby, a rehabilitation aide who helps co-ordinate the parties together with Sara Simons.

"They love bingo," Hillaby said.

Bingo is so popular that it was decided to link it to the birthday parties just to make sure people would come, Hillaby said between spins of the bingo wheel.

Bingo is the only activity that all the elders, both male and female, seem to enjoy and will participate in together, she said.

Birthday parties aren't the only times that residents of long-term care get to play bingo. Bingo cards come out regularly every Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Each card is played for three games including one line, two lines and a full card. Prizes are awarded to the winner of each round.

On Thursdays, lucky elders can look forward to picking from a variety of donated prizes. On Tuesdays prizes are more unusual.

As an effort to reduce the strain on the prize stock and also as a way to make the game more healthy, banana bingo was invented.

In banana bingo the winner of each game gets a banana as a prize. At first staff weren't sure how the bingo variation would go over, Hillaby said.

"They got quite a kick out of it actually," said Hillaby.

Many of the residents are lucky and win a variety of prizes, but Sarah McPherson doesn't think luck is on her side.

"Every time I play bingo someone plays for me and nothing," said McPherson, referring to a string of unlucky cards.

McPherson, a resident of long-term care, said she still enjoys playing but wishes she would win a bit more.

"I like it when they play with money," said McPherson with a smile.