A regular Tuesday at the Kent Senior Activity Center is filled with activity and socialization — from day trip meet-ups to Vietnamese karaoke to fly tying to a full fitness center.
On this particular Tuesday, the center was bustling from tip to tail. It was early in the day, with a group of seniors chatting at the coffee bar and others exercising in the side gym. As people slowly filled the spaces, Room 6 was occupied from 9 a.m. to noon by the Vietnamese cultural group called Evergreen Elders Connection (Nhóm Cao Niên Tình Xanh in Vietnamese).
Every first and third Tuesday of the month, about 25 to 30 Vietnamese and Vietnamese-American seniors bring food, cards, games and sometimes songs and raffle prizes.
“We share food, sing karaoke, dance, celebrate,” said Lan Vo. “We will be here again for Christmas, Chinese New Year and in summertime we have a picnic.”
For the second event of November, it was all about Thanksgiving, with everyone pitching in a special dish to share with the group and coming together to sing, dance and give out raffle prizes.
“They have been with us for about a year and our partnership is made possible though the [Veterans, Seniors, and Human Services Levy],” said Kent Senior Activity Center manager Cindy Robinson of Evergreen Elders Connection. “Our goal is to have cultural awareness activities here. We also have an Indian cultural group who comes here and what I love about these groups is that they allow other people to join in.”
The Evergreen Elders Connection leaders present Kent Senior Activity Center manager Cindy Robinson with gifts.
The Indian American Community Services (IACS) Kent Pop-Up takes place every second and fourth Tuesday from 12:30 to 3 p.m., and includes wellness, fitness, mental health support, food and more.
Denny Wagenman of Renton comes to fly tying at the senior center to work on his artificial flies, which are used for fly fishing. Situated in Room 5, the fly tying group was small this week, but everyone was focused on creating their flies, some as small as a fingernail, like Wagenman’s fly.
Wagenman talked about how he has gone fishing on 72 different rivers throughout the U.S., and he and his wife would travel to Montana in the summer just to fly fish together. “It saved my life,” said Wagenman, a Vietnam War veteran. “I came back home from a war that I didn’t agree with and fly fishing helped with my mental health.”
Along with fly tying, the rest of the Tuesday activities included foot care appointments, a bilingual group, Kent Senior Stitchers, pinochle, ukulele, movie matinee and computer lab.
“We’ve been blessed with our VSHS Levy funding,” said Robinson, adding that the county levy has made it possible for the senior center to have outreach programs like their food pantry, outdoor activities like skiing and hiking, and their hot meals three days a week. “We try to be an all-in-one here. What we learned from COVID was how severe isolation can be for seniors, so it’s a huge thing for us to help with interactions for our seniors.”
The senior center is located at 600 E. Smith Street and open Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call 253-856-5150, email mykentparks@kentwa.gov or visit kentwa.gov/departments/kent-parks/parks-places/kent-senior-activity-center.
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Deep-fried spring rolls were one of many delicious dishes at the Evergreen Elders Connection Thanksgiving event.
Dancing is a favorite part of the Evergreen Elders Connection events. Photos by Bailey Jo Josie/Sound Publishing
Karaoke is a major draw for Evergreen Elders Connection.
