Seniors in St John the Baptist Parish were the center of attention at the sixth annual Westbank Senior Christmas dinner — an event featuring music, lunch, a bingo game, and community bonding.

The event, convened by Gary Watson Sr and organized by Gary Watson and Friends, was held on Saturday, Dec. 23, inside the West St John Elementary School Cafeteria in Edgard. Some guests at the event include Hillary Bossier, a baseball hall of fame pitcher, Ed Price, a Senator at the Louisiana State Senate, and officials from the St John the Baptist Parish area.

Denerold Anderson opened the ceremony, leading prayers, and welcomed the over 100 seniors who attended the event.

The local festivity for seniors became a tradition six years ago. According to Gary Watson Sr, he and a few family members spent the Christmas holiday together. The get-together was later expanded to include seniors over the age of 60 years in the parish, providing an accessible end-of-year event for seniors to socialize and be active. 

“It started with a few members of my family and then extended to friends, so when it started becoming big, we decided to extend the invitation to outstanding members of the community to be part of it,” Gary Sr said. “Our senior population is only growing; they need more services and more activities; so they can keep thriving and become more active than ever before,” 

Bossier presented a proclamation highlighting their contributions, and some seniors were presented with a plaque.

Each senior received a ticket for the draw prizes, which were donated by local elected officials. After lunch, the West St John Elementary choir gave a Christmas carol rendition and pulled the winners for the door prizes. As each ticket was pulled, laughter filled the room, and seniors clapped for their friends.

One of the oldest guests in attendance, Agnes Oubre, was celebrated for clocking her 97th birthday and was presented with a bouquet of flowers, a midday soiree that was a side attraction to the main event.

The festivities culminated with bingo games, prizes to winners of the draw, and recognition of special guests.