By Daisy Au, Coordinator, Seniors Club
On October 2, the ballroom at Anvil Centre was filled with colour, music, movement and conversation as 340 seniors from diverse communities came together for MOSAIC’s Multicultural Seniors Day 2026.
This year’s theme was simple: Keep Going. Keep Growing. But by the end of the day, those words had become much more than a theme on the program. They could be seen in the stories seniors shared, in the cultures represented on stage, in the friendships around the tables, and even in hundreds of colourful pieces of paper covering a once-empty community mural.
A mural that told a bigger story
One of the most moving moments of the day did not happen on stage. Seniors were invited to reflect on their own lives and contribute to a collective mural. A leaf could represent how they had grown. A flower could show how they had blossomed. A lightbulb could represent something they had learned, a heart could express gratitude, and a butterfly could symbolize transformation.
At first, the mural was almost empty. Within half an hour, it was overflowing with colourful drawings, messages and reflections.
Many spoke of happiness, resilience, gratitude and continuing to enjoy life. One Korean senior, attending MOSAIC’s Multicultural Seniors Day for the first time, proudly held up his contribution. At the bottom he had written: “Never, Never give up.”
In those four words was the spirit of the day.
The mural offered a picture of aging that is too easily overlooked. The seniors in the room were not defining themselves only by what they could no longer do. They were learning, creating, connecting, contributing and continuing to bloom.
What if the final third could be the best third?
Growing older brings changes and challenges. But it does not erase a person’s need for purpose, friendship, creativity, belonging or opportunities to contribute. Throughout the ballroom, seniors demonstrated what flourishing can look like at different stages of life. Some danced. Some performed. Some created art. Some volunteered. Some led. Some simply enjoyed being together.
Residents from Seton Villa, an assisted-living community, were part of the celebration too. Their presence mattered. Seniors should not disappear from community life because their mobility, health or living circumstances change. They continue to belong.
That is an important part of Keep Going. Keep Growing. Growth does not look the same for everyone. Sometimes, it looks like a flower blooming.
Still blooming at 92
At 92, Mrs. Wong showed exactly what that can mean. The oldest recipient of this year’s SAGE Awards—Seniors Aging with Grace and Excellence—Mrs. Wong received the Compassion & Care Award.
A member of MOSAIC’s Knitting Circle, she has knitted approximately 150 water-bottle holders to share with others. At one point, she completed 20 in just one week. Her handiwork became part of the gifts given to seniors at this year’s celebration.
Mrs. Wong may not be the person dancing at the front of the ballroom or performing under the stage lights. Her contribution happens quietly, stitch by stitch. But every holder represents her hands, her time and her care for another person.
At 92, Mrs. Wong is still blooming—in her own way.
From newcomer to senior leader
Another story brought the day’s theme together with a much longer journey.
As part of MOSAIC’s 50th anniversary, an original song, 50 Years, reflected on the immigrant experience: arriving in an unfamiliar country carrying both hope and loss, navigating new streets, languages and systems, and searching for safety, work and a place to belong. It describes MOSAIC through images of a beacon, a lighthouse, an anchor and a place to land.
For Sharvin Baghaee, those words reflected a journey she knew personally.
In her remarks, Sharvin shared her own immigration journey—from arriving in Canada as a newcomer to building a life and community here. Today, she is a senior herself and leads MOSAIC’s Seniors Council.
Her story represents something important about MOSAIC’s 50 years. Many of the newcomers MOSAIC once welcomed are now older adults. They are no longer only receiving support. They are leaders, volunteers, mentors and neighbours who are welcoming and supporting others.
They kept going. And they kept growing.
Many cultures, one celebration
That growth was also visible on stage.
This year’s performances offered a particularly rich representation of the cultural diversity within our seniors community. Different languages, music, dance, clothing and traditions filled the ballroom.
But seniors were not simply sitting and watching a multicultural show. They participated. During the movement session, hundreds of people stood, moved and danced together. During the interactive activities, they created together. Around the tables, people who may never otherwise have met shared a meal and an experience. The room was filled with energy and laughter.
One participant later described the speeches as inspiring, the performances as wonderful and the interactive activities as fun, adding that the venue was filled to capacity and praising the teamwork that made the celebration possible.
Another senior wrote that the interactive crafts, group dancing and multicultural performances brought the celebration to a high point, with laughter and joy filling the hall.
With 340 seniors seated across 34 tables, plus volunteers, staff, exhibitors and others who made the day possible, all 370 lunches prepared for the event were distributed. But the numbers tell only a small part of the story.
Fifty years—and the light is still on
The celebration began with an Indigenous Welcome from Elder Rikki Kooy, grounding the gathering in respect and relationship with the First Peoples of this land.
That moment also connects deeply with the final verse of 50 Years, which acknowledges newcomers as guests on this land, welcomed by First Peoples, and imagines lessons of belonging and connection spreading outward like ripples.
And perhaps that is where MOSAIC’s 50-year story and this year’s Seniors Day meet.
The anniversary song speaks of leaving a light on for the person who is still trying to find their way home.
For 50 years, newcomers have walked through MOSAIC’s doors looking for information, language, connection, opportunity and belonging.
Some of those newcomers are now seniors. Some are leading councils. Some are volunteering. Some are knitting gifts for hundreds of other seniors. Some are dancing. Some are living in assisted living and still coming out to celebrate with their community. And some are walking into Multicultural Seniors Day for the very first time, adding a colourful piece to a community mural and reminding everyone: “Never, Never give up.”
Perhaps that is what it means to make the final third of life its best third—not by denying the realities of aging, but by continuing to find meaning, relationships, creativity and ways to give.
Fifty years ago, MOSAIC began opening doors for newcomers looking for a place to land.
Today, some of those newcomers are the seniors and community leaders holding the door open for someone else.
That is what it means to keep going.
And that is how a community keeps growing.
Read more stories of the seniors in our community.
