HAPPY FATHER’S DAY
Members of the Edmonton Antique Auto Club hold a Father’s Day parade for seniors Friday near the St. Michael’s Long Term Care Centre.
Vintage car enthusiasts showed up in a parade of support for fathers living in a northeast seniors care home Friday morning.
Forty-four sleek and polished vintage and luxury vehicles drove in procession around St. Michael’s Long Term Care Centre for the Father’s Day Vintage and Antique Car Parade. About two dozen residents sat in chairs outside the building, waving as vehicles passed by, honking horns in support of fathers and other residents separated from their families due to COVID -19.
Lenny Andrichuk, whose father lives in the home, organized the parade as a way to wish the families a happy Father’s Day at a distance.
“Who doesn’t appreciate the amazing work that goes into these people that are restoring these old beautiful vehicles? So it’s a great way to celebrate,” he said.
But it’s heartbreaking, he said, to not be able to spend time with his father on the holiday.
“We’re just one family of thousands that are in the same position where they can’t visit with their loved ones, and it breaks your heart. So we’re doing everything we can around it to try to ensure that they know that we’re thinking of them, celebrating them.”
Andrichuk’s father has Alzheimer’s disease, and watching the vehicles go by will be a visual he can appreciate, he said.
Daria Luciw, director of fund development and communications for St. Michael’s Health Group, said normally the centre would hold a barbecue for residents and their families who came to celebrate the holiday. But that couldn’t happen this year.
“This is bringing a tear to my eye, and I’m really struggling not to get emotional ... because it’s been a difficult few months, no question, not just for our site, but for everybody,” she said.
“While I’m very proud of all the work our staff at St. Michael’s have done, it’s not the same. It’s not my son. It’s not my daughter. It’s not my sister, brother. So I think that coming out today is symbolic of just how people want to support them, how everybody wants them to feel just a little bit better.”
We’re doing everything we can around it to try to ensure that they know that we’re thinking of them, celebrating them.