Saturday, April 2 saw the residents of Ruimsig Retirement Village dressed in feathers and beads according to the Charleston-dance period as part of their ‘Night in Paris’ themed event.
A gala event is hosted at the Ruimsig Retirement Village every year, and it is an event for which the ladies must delve deep into their cupboards for their fanciest and smartest dresses and feathers, and fine jewellery.
In the previous years the themes were ‘Feathers and Finery’, followed by ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’.
The men also enjoyed dressing up, and some of them were hardly recognisable.
The hall was decorated according to the theme and nothing was too much trouble for the ladies from the Social Committee.
There were cheese and biscuits platters on the beautifully decorated tables as starters, and later platters with cold meats, open French-bread sandwiches with delectable fillings and quiches were served.
“Everything was prepared by the ladies from the Social Committee. This night in Paris under the Eiffel Tower, quarter moon and lots of dazzling fairy lights will be talked about in the village for a long, long time,” said Renell Liebenberg.
Renell is the current chairperson of the Management Association and was the organiser of the stunning event. She said this was the first year that a guest performer had been invited to entertain the residents.
Tonya Koenderman kept the attendees on their toes with her performance of French songs and dancing among the tables.
She said she had lost track of how many years she had been in the entertainment industry, but said she had travelled around the world and had seen, among other, Morocco, Australia and France.
Tonya is a resident of Weltevreden Park and it was her first performance at the Ruimsig Retirement Village.
“Since I left university in 1989, I have had a very lucky career. There were a very few moments when I was able to say I was unemployed, although Covid-19 hit us all hard; but it looks like things are back on track. I have been very lucky and blessed to have travelled all over the world,” Tonya concluded.
