The 25th anniversary of the Senior Citizens’ Day was held in Opole from May 22 to 26. Our city started the tradition of celebrating a holiday dedicated to senior citizens 25 years ago.
This year’s event was held under the motto “We reach for the stars” and was a combination of various activities: education, sports, fun, integration and relaxation. The day began with a solemn mass for the seniors in the Franciscan Church, followed by a colorful procession through the streets of the city, dressed in starry costumes and moods, to the Opole City Hall. There the seniors were welcomed by the Mayor of Opole, Arkadiusz Wisniewski, who handed them a symbolic key to the city. Senior singing, dancing and music groups performed on a stage set up in the square.
On the following day, a city game was played with the participation of ten adventurous teams of six, whose task was to find ten mysterious and humorous places in the city. Since the theme of the game was “Reaching for the Stars,” the teams were given cosmic names, and at the locations they found, they had to perform stellar tasks, such as acting out scenes from popular movies, leaving handprints in the Avenue of Stars, or arranging the solar system. An unusual highlight was a visit to the university’s astronomical observatory and a show of space trivia in the astronomical dome set up at the senior center. A meeting on the roof of the Main Transfer Center in Opole, where prizes were awarded and refreshments were provided, was the highlight of the strenuous exploration of the city.
The Space Ball for 300 couples at the Opolanka Restaurant was a great success, where the amazing scenery of the starry sky delighted those gathered. On Thursday the seniors took part in an excursion to the Science and Human Evolution Park in Krasiejów. Meanwhile, on Friday, the seniors’ works of art could be admired in the Municipal Library in Opole. The Days of Opole’s Seniors fit perfectly into the city’s initiative “Opole in the Rhythm of Kindness”. Opole’s seniors have a lot of energy, willingness to act and kindness, which they proved during the city game, where the most important thing was to have fun without unnecessary competition. For the organizers, the Opole Senior Days are an opportunity to show the residents that seniors are an important and growing social group in the city. Opole was awarded the title of “Senior Friendly City” by the World Health Organization (WHO). Municipal authorities, organizations and institutions operating in the city try to fulfill this obligation by listening to the needs of seniors themselves and meeting their expectations.
