The 2026-2027 Ticket Order Form is inside

The New Season

A Visit with Activities’ Silvia & Tammie

By Dale Dauten

Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.

Terry Pratchett, English novelist

Ah, you know the new season is coming soon when the 2026-27 Ticket Order Form and Seating Charts are published – and yes, you’ll find downloadable copies in this issue.

We took this as an opportunity to sit down with the new leaders of the Activities team, Director Silvia Osborne and Assistant AD Tammie Littlejohn. (That’s Silvia on the left and Tammie on the right.)

Tammie started the discussion of the new season by saying, “I look at it as an adventure — meeting new people and getting to know the residents better. Every year is different. Every year grows.”

And speaking of different, we asked if there were new entertainers in the line-up for this season’s long list of performers. Silvia explained that she and Tammie go twice a year to an entertainment showcase where they see performers in action and that they picked two new groups for this season: Flashback Cadillac, doing country and classic rock, and Arizona Jukebox which does multiple genres across decades. They’ve also added a new ABBA tribute concert coming in January. Then, in addition to the new acts, she pointed that two of last season’s first-timers, the Bobcats and Thaddeus Rose, were so well-received by residents that they were invited back.

Moreover, Silvia wanted to share news about a new-old group, telling us, “Everybody knows Hillbilly Deluxe – they’re always a big hit — but something exciting this year: Hillbilly Deluxe normally just does dinner dances, and they’ll be back for those, but they’re branching out and doing a dinner show. The dinner shows are a smaller environment and we’ll get to see Hillbilly Deluxe do more of a variety show.” Tammie explained, “Something like the old ‘Hee Haw’ show.” Finally, Silvia added, “We’re excited about that because they’re so popular and so loved, and we’ll get to see them do a little something different.”

When we asked Silvia and Tammie what they personally most looked forward to in the upcoming lineup of entertainers, they surprised us by agreeing that it isn’t just seeing the acts on stage but seeing who’s in the audience and joining in the spirit of the event via the themes and attire. “The dances are so much fun because there’s a different theme every week,” Tammie explained. “A lot of the residents have fun dressing up and getting into costumes.” Silvia added, “That’s what I look forward to the most — the costumes every week and just seeing what everybody comes in with. Last year, Tammie and I worked through the summer planning our costumes for the whole year, then we went thrift shopping and found stuff that we could put together so we would have costumes for the whole year.” (She turned to Tammie and added, “We gotta get on that for this year!”)

Below: A few of last season’s looks…

We were also curious about trends in activities around the park, and, specifically, if there was something in recent season that had surprised them with an unexpected boost in popularity. Both agreed that it was the Poker Runs, with Silvia pointing out, “It just takes off and gets bigger and bigger every year.” For those who haven’t experienced these, she explained: “First, everybody meets here, and they pay a $5 buy-in. We give them a map of where the Dealers are and then release them — everyone is in golf carts and they’re going crazy going to all seven Dealers. At each one, they get a little treat and the Dealer flips a card and writes down what they got on a form that records their ‘hand.’ Then, they come back to the social hall and socialize while a crew behind the scenes figures out the winners and we pay out cash. It’s so popular we had to put a cap at 125 players.”

We wondered why they’d limit the number of people. “Because,” Silvia replied, “it’s not fair to the dealers. They’re providing a snack or a beverage to 125 people. They love being part of it — they pick a theme and dress up. But, at 125 players, it’s a lot to ask. If we let the participation go, it would probably get up to 200 people. So what we did is add one more Poker Run this year; instead of three, we’re doing four. We want to give everybody a chance to get in on it.”

We also sought advice on the best place/event to meet people, especially for newcomers to the park. Silvia emphasized joining one of the many clubs, thus upping the odds of finding people with similar interests by getting the list of clubs and finding something geared to them personally. Tammie then suggested a completely different option: “A lot of people socialize in the pool, especially in January, February, March at the peak of the season. There will be people just sitting in the pool — nobody’s swimming — it’s just filled with everybody sitting and talking. They’ve got their Big Joes that they sit in, and their cocktails, and they visit. They’ll float over and introduce themselves and ask questions. I’ve met a lot of people in the pool that way.”

(For those not familiar with a Big Joe, it’s a line of pool products, notably floating lounge chairs. The key benefit is that these aren’t inflated; rather, they’re built with material like ‘pool noodles.’ Photo from the Big Joe website. )

As for other changes coming from the Activities Desk, they will soon be adding more merchandise — shirts and hats, and also they are expanding the snack/beverage options. Here’s a look at one of the first new offerings to arrive…

We wondered if there would be new activities starting up this year? Silvia and Tammie are hoping that happens, but they explained that those are driven by the residents. Silvia offered this example: “Last season we had people ask about ping pong. We do have the table, although it’s not set up. We have one room that might work. Now we just need someone who wants to take charge – to make a schedule and so on. That’s how most new activities start – residents with a passion. We love to hear what our residents want to be part of.” (Along with the new ticket info, you’ll find below a letter from Silvia with a call for volunteers.)

Full lists of clubs and events will be available as we get closer to the new season, but the Ticket Order Form and Seating Charts are below and are ready for downloading to print out. (NOTE: The Ticket Order Form is two pages, set up as front and back of a single sheet.)