Gill Waminda Aged Care Centre Celebrates 'Lilac Time'

The Goulburn Lilac City Festival is Australia’s longest continuously run community festival, first established in 1951. The festival takes place annually in October and, like in many years past, Gill Waminda Aged Care Centre (“Gill Waminda”) will be showing their support for this calendar event, with the Lifestyle Co-Coordinator Leah and the residents, decorating the Centre.

This year, like previous years, Leah will continue to support ‘Lilac Time’ with a display in the Centre’s foyer. “If we can just support it with decorations when people come in, they will know that we like to be a part of the community,” she states. In terms of decorations, Leah notes that residents will have an integral, hands-on role, right the start of the project. “We’ll get the residents to help with the decorating, like cutting things out and I’m going to get some balloons and things like that,” she explains.

Leah has been at the Centre for the last fourteen years, first starting off as a Care Service Employee, before joining the Lifestyle team in 2016. In her role as Co-Coordinator of the Lifestyle team, she loves connecting with residents, noting, “I really enjoy meeting people and having a helping role – being able to help people.”
When reflecting on what makes Gill Waminda such a special place to work, she refers to its tight-knit community feel. “Because we’re in the country, there’s a different atmosphere. It’s very community minded. I know a lot of people in the community and, if they bring loved ones here, it’s a nice thing to be able to help them, if I know them as well.”

Leah has been enthusiastic about the Centre’s support for the Lilac Festival, noting its influence on the local community. “I’ve lived in Goulburn for thirty years, so it’s a big part of the local community’s culture. In my family, we support it by going to the parades and being aware of what’s going on in town and supporting the markets; things like that. It’s just a fun thing to do.”

For Leah, she notes the significance of the Lilac Festival, not only for the community but also for Gill Waminda’s residents themselves who would have grown up with the event. “Because we are part of the local community and it has been running for over 70 years, it’s very integrated. A lot of people would have grown up in the district going to the parades and being involved and making things. There’s just so much more to it than just the parade. It’s a very community-wide thing for charity with a lot of local businesses involved.”