If you close your eyes and think about the last time you were at a state fair, would the smell of nostalgic food come to mind? Maybe you hear the sound of rides and games and laughter in the background and feel a crisp breeze as the sun sets.
Residents at Brookdale Edina in Minnesota were discussing memories just like these, and that led to a bigger conversation about how to bring these memories to life.
Jenna Leech, the Director of Resident Programs, said that some of the residents, while fondly remembering the fair, were not in a place where they wanted to actually travel to a fair and immerse themselves in a large crowd.
Despite this, “They wish they could have the state fair food and love on some animals. So, we made it happen and brought the fair to them.” said Jenna.
Jenna and the community team put careful consideration into every element of what a state fair looks like, and how they were going to pull off the big event.
“We had several stations at the fair,” said Jenna. “We had the Midway-baseball-swing for the fences game, where residents could hit an inflatable ball for a home run! We also had fair food such as cheese curds, Pronto Pups, pickle on a stick, cotton candy, and sno-cones! We had a dairy barn with ice cream cones, a 4-H building with wood birdhouses to make, and a photo booth with unlimited props to commemorate the event. We also had the Barn, with a baby cow, baby pig, pony, goat, sheep and ducks. And finally, we had a grandstand where we had CODA, a musical group, serenade the residents.”
It was all of the small details that allowed residents to reminisce about treasured state fair memories while creating new ones to savor.
Not only was this event a big hit, Jenna said it will now become an annual tradition.
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