Children, seniors enjoy Teddy Bears and Tea
Children and seniors sipped tea from fine china and nibbled on dainty sandwiches and choux pastry swans filled with cream at Strathcona Centre on Tuesday afternoon.
The only tea parties Anikka Wilde-Ullstrom, 6, had ever attended were the impromptu kind she arranged for her dolls, she explained.
“I think it is going to be exciting,” she said as tea was poured into her cup.
Mia Henry, 6, said she has never before shared a table with ladies wearing beautiful hats.
“I think the cakes are yummy,” said Henry using the silver tongs to add a sugar cube to her cup of tea.
Many children attending the event were Grade 1 students from St. Louis School. They each brought a teddy bear, or other cuddle toy with some details they’d written about it, said teacher Maureen Woelfle. The idea was to celebrate diversity on international day for the elimination of racial discrimination.
At the start of the event, children sat on quilts and listened to stories read by Gordon and Sherry Nott. While the teddy bears each child had brought were very different they were encouraged to recognize them as being special and loved. Sometimes the things that make us different are the very things that make us special, said Gordon.
Ruth Tidy and Lorraine Valentini were dressed in elegant hats and explained they belong to the Crown Jewel chapter. Tidy remembers watching her mother get dressed to attend tea parties in Montreal. She would slip on her gloves and place a hat on her head looking very glamorous.
“We couldn’t wait to grow up and do the same,” said Tidy with a smile.
The ritual of afternoon tea is special; it is a time to indulge in the finer aspects of life, said Valentini.
It was the very first tea party Kingston Herbst-Street, 6, had attended and his favourite item to eat was the tiny cucumber sandwiches.
“I think it’s great,” said Herbst-Street.
At the same table was Grace Ronning who has many greatgrandchildren and was right at home with the children. Ronning says the event was a really good idea and hopes it becomes an annual tradition.