Traveling around the world is both a time- and money-consuming journey, but fortunately for the residents at Oak Trace, a Lifespace community in Downers Grove, IL, the world comes to their front door every year.
The community has been hosting a “United Nations” event celebrating world cultures for the past 13 years, and it is a tradition that continues to thrive in the present day.
“We want to be unified. We want to celebrate different cultures and be inclusive, too,” Oak Trace Lifestyle Director Jessica Lazzara Cashman said. “We have a lot of different members here who come from different backgrounds, and I think it’s just great that we celebrate that.”
This year, nations represented in the carnival-like atmosphere outside the community included Albania, Mexico, Poland and the Philippines, among others. Each country had its own station, and participants shared food, dance, fashion and history with visitors. It was an opportunity to honor heritage as well as a chance to get to know neighbors better.
“Isolation is a big deal, especially after COVID-19, so we don’t really want them to be in their rooms. We want to get them out, and this is a perfect celebration, and they enjoy it,” Cashman said. “They look forward to it every year. The team helps wheel them out and get them situated.”
The festivities are not just fun for residents; staff members enjoy them as well. After 13 years, the event’s “special sauce” has been the people running the show.
“The residents love to get to know the team members,” Cashman said. “We have one team member who is Hispanic, and she’ll dance for them, bring out her dress and talk about her culture, and it’s just really nice. Then we have residents who are Italian, and they participate in the Italian booth. One resident made her mom’s homemade Italian sauce and so they got me talking with her, and I was like, ‘My gosh. Can I have that recipe?’ So she gave it to me.”
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