Sign Party at RVilla in Ripley is success, thanks to New Horizons grant

About 30 people took part in the Sign Party held Saturday afternoon, June 17, at RVilla Retirement Living in Ripley.

A free workshop, thanks to funding through the New Horizons for Seniors funding, the event was led by Chris Hackett of The Woodshop in Lucknow, and his assistant, Aidan Lee, 14, of Wingham.

Special guests were Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb and MPP Lisa Thompson who were excited to see such a great turn-out.

"The New Horizons program has been around for decades," said Lobb. "The funding is to go toward physical fitness and activities for seniors. I believe this Sign Party is a good use of taxpayers' money."

Jokingly, he noted that the last time he was at RVilla was the night of the United States election. "I hope things turn out better this afternoon."

Thompson congratulated RVilla for initiating this program for residents of the retirement home and the community, bringing them together for some creative fun.

Hackett took the participants through the various steps of creating a sign. The project included first putting together the wooden board, then sanding it down, painting it, applying a stencil, and painting the stencil wording. Then presto, the sign was complete.

RVilla hopes to host another Sign Party in October.