TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson residents celebrated Grandparents Day in style this Sunday at a special event held at Trail Dust Town. The event, organized by local nonprofit Young at Heart Together, offered a day full of activities aimed at honoring and connecting grandparents with their families.
Grandparents were treated to free admission to Trail Dust Town, where they enjoyed a variety of festivities, including live music, crafts, face painting, a raffle, and a lively family dance party.
The celebration aimed to highlight the vital role grandparents play in both family life and the broader community.
“Grandparents Day is such an important day,” Said Joanna Wilson-Urbina, Director and Co-founder of Young at Heart Together. “A time to celebrate those special people in our lives who play such an important role in our society. They’re educators, they’re our caretakers, they’re our wisdom-keepers.”
Young at Heart Together is dedicated to fostering meaningful connections between youth and older adults. The organization hosts a variety of activities, such as grandparent-grandchild craft days at the Drawing Studio and visits to local assisted living facilities, to build intergenerational relationships.
“There’s so much to learn from one another,” Wilson-Urbina said of relationships between the youth and older adults. “I think it’s important that we have these opportunities to share time, especially celebrating life together.”
Serena Scott, a board member at Young at Heart Together says that the group’s mission is to connect generations through art, play and getting outside.
“We like to get the generations to talk, share and learn more from each other by having conversations they wouldn’t normally have,” she said. “We’re all human and we have such different views and stages of life. It’s valuable to hear from people at all these stages of life and adopt various philosophies into our own lives.”
To learn more about Young at Heart Together, visit the organization’s website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
