The sounds of disharmony appear to be ringing out loud at Harmony Hall in Gibsons.
The popular seniors' centre and its members are divided over an issue, and we're struggling to see the reason for the divisiveness.
A group, calling themselves the SunCoast Harmony Entertainment Society, wants to see a return to evening entertainment at Harmony Hall, such as dances for St. Patrick's Day or during the popular Gibsons Jazz Festival week, but their offers of music, dancing and increased entertainment opportunities are not flying very well with the Gibsons Seniors' Society executive.
The executive, in several recent heated meetings with its membership, has stated there is no need for such events, that there are liability issues that are raising concerns and that seniors don't want to drive at night and don't want to dance because many have lost their regular partners.
We can see the executive's point with regard to liability issues. Those are always a concern when anyone puts on public events in a community facility like Harmony Hall, but there is a way of overcoming those issues if you try.
But the other issues of seniors not wishing to drive at night and not having a dance partner seem like pretty flimsy excuses.
The organization has a mandate of serving seniors in the community aged 40 and over. Harmony Hall is a hub of social activities with many popular events such as teas, table tennis, tai chi, carpet bowling, card games and bingo - all great events that are well supported. But aren't our communities and community-based facilities mandated to offer diversity among their programs? Why not try some of the evening entertainment this new society is suggesting? Who is it going to hurt? If the attendance figures are not there after one or two events, then at least you can say you've given it a try. If you're concerned about seniors driving at night, how about a car pool program? Or, better yet, contact the grad class at Elphinstone Secondary School to see if they would be interested in putting on a program whereby the students would pick up and drop off the seniors interested in going to the dance for a nominal fee. It's a win-win. The seniors get to have fun at their dance, and the students raise funds for their year-end grad.
Our point is, instead of just blowing these ideas off, why not look for a compromise? Look to make Harmony Hall and the programs the Seniors' Society is putting on even better. Open them up to more in the community to enjoy. What's wrong with that?
