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Trillium Villa celebrates Residents' Council Week with carnival fun
Carnival-themed games and activities highlight week of engagement and connection
10/6/2025
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Deron Hamel
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The Trillium Villa life enrichment team organized an engaging and enjoyable Residents' Council Week for residents with a variety of fun programs and activities.
To honour Residents' Council Week, the Sarnia long-term care community's innovative life enrichment team created a carnival theme that included games such as fish pond, Plinko and clown golf, with prizes awarded. There was also a residents' council trivia game.
Tara Klompstra, Trillium Villa's life enrichment manager, notes that the carnival theme brought back lots of fond memories, and this was part of the plan.
“Someone once said, 'Life is like a carnival, full of bright lights, fun and sometimes scary rides, but the memories you make are worth it,' ” Tara tells S&R Today.
The week also included a painted tattoo activity for residents that was organized by resident service co-ordinator Essie Lopes.
“Each tattoo was personalized and made especially for them,” Essie says. “Tattoos varied from kittens to dogs to flowers to a Ford Thunderbird logo. I loved putting my graphic design skills to use, bringing pure joy to our residents during a very important week.”
Residents' councils are required in all Ontario long-term care homes. Made up of residents, the councils advocate for their peers and provide input on decisions that affect life in the home. Every year, Trillium Villa uses Residents' Council Week as an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the home's council as well as educate others about its role and importance.
There is also lots of community-building by bringing residents, team members and families together, Tara says.
“Residents' Council Week was the perfect time to bring the Trillium community together to celebrate the contributions of residents and help others learn more about residents' council,” she says.
Because of the life enrichment team's creative approach to programming throughout the week, Tara notes that residents got to experience making and eating their own cotton candy.
“Yes, it was sticky goodness,” she says.
The home ended the week celebrating with a cake from Sunripe Freshmarket.
Residents' Council Week, which is organized by the Ontario Association of Residents' Councils (OARC), was Sept. 15 to 21. The week aims to raise awareness about the important role residents' councils play in long-term care homes.
“Trillium Villa council members are proud to be a part of OARC, and of their commitment to putting residents first,” Tara says. “The home looks forward to celebrating this event next year.”
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