Care home residents enjoy Harvest Festival fun

A Macclesfield care home joined forces with local primary school children to celebrate Harvest Festival. 

Residents at Care UK’s Hollins Park, on Victoria Road, were joined by Upton Priory school children to celebrate the annual festival. 

Everyone enjoyed a morning learning about the origins of the festival, what it means for today’s society, and why this long-standing tradition should not be forgotten. The youngsters and residents spent time together taking part in a harvest festival themed arts and crafts session, decorating food baskets complete with seasonal vegetables, carving pumpkins and making soup from the pumpkins grown in the home’s garden.

As part of the initiative, Keziah Hehir, Vidhya Varkey and Tracy Norbury, Sustainability Champions at Hollins Park, led a scarecrow making session with the home’s gardening club – the scarecrow is now taking pride of place in the vegetable patch.

Wanting to honour resident Theresa Hayton, aged 63, and her link as a former Project Co-ordinator at Silklife Foodbank in Macclesfield, the team, with the help of the community, donated their extra, unused or unwanted non-perishable food items to the food bank.

Commenting on the afternoon’s celebrations, resident Charles Beamsley, aged 80, said: “It was lovely to connect with the community and what a wonderful day seeing all the children here for the Harvest Festival fun.”

Tracy Norbury, Home Manager at Hollins Park, said: “It was fantastic to welcome Upton Priory Schoolchildren to Hollins Park to celebrate the annual Harvest Festival tradition and explore its importance today.

“Harvest Festival is a day in the calendar where we can reflect and show gratitude for the food that we have, while serving as an opportunity to connect with others, regardless of age or background. 

“Everyone had an a-maize-ing day and we’re already looking forward to our next event with Upton Priory Schoolchildren as we race towards Christmas!”