Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: I've been talking about it all afternoon, and I'm really excited to talk to Lisa Cunningham. What's going on, my friend?
[00:00:07] Speaker B: Hi, my sister. How are you today?
[00:00:09] Speaker A: I am doing very well. Now, a lot of people know you from singing, but I know you also for being at the parks and rec department at the city of Detroit.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: This is true. This is true. I am the coordinator there for senior programming. I've made my wonderful career working with the city of Detroit, and I am so proud to be working with seniors.
[00:00:29] Speaker A: Now, this is a big deal. You've talked to me a couple of years about this. It's the Detroit senior Olympics. It's gonna be June 10 through the 12th. But tell everybody about how fun this is.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: This is the premier summer kickoff event for Detroit parks and rec for seniors, and it's in its 37th year. Now, I have not been there all 37 years, Randy. Of course, not only a few of the years. However, it's a wonderful opportunity that seniors get together. They see their friends, they're competing in fun activities. We have them from social competitions to the very sporty, active ones. And it is well attended every year.
[00:01:09] Speaker A: Absolutely. Now, what you do is you gather the senior citizens for different events and things like golf, pickleball, and then team events like volleyball and things like that. But there's lots more going on.
[00:01:25] Speaker B: Yes, we have something for every senior. So if you're a crafter, we have an arts and crafts competition, and if you are a baker, and I love that competition, we have a baking contest. We have it all for somebody. We got Bidwist, pinochle, billiards, cornhole. And we love to just have you come out and be a spectator as well.
[00:01:45] Speaker A: Yeah. And then there's swimming, there's running. It's just so cool. And here's one of my favorites. I want to actually watch this. So you have to make sure that you tell me when it's happening. But the dance sport is club ballroom and Chicago style and couples and hustle. That sounds so much fun.
[00:02:06] Speaker B: You've got to come for that, Randy, because they go all in, and I'm talking about costuming as well. This is a very serious sport. So we're talking about the ballroom couples and their finest regalia, the men and the women. The teams are dressing up to do their hustles. And, I mean, they're coming with their best steps. It is not anything rehashed. They're putting the work in, and it's amazing to see them because they started at age 50. Our oldest competitor was over 90. Whoo.
[00:02:36] Speaker A: I love that so much. So a person like me could actually become involved.
[00:02:41] Speaker B: Everybody can get involved. You can get involved if you just register through community pass. And if you can't get online, we understand that. We welcome you to come to any of our recreation centers, and our staff will be more than happy to get you registered to participate or to be a spectator for the Detroit senior Olympics this year.
[00:02:59] Speaker A: Well, I would love for everybody to get involved. We're going to have this information on the website.
There's participant fees. You can register. Register. You can be a spectator. Go to the website. It's register dot communitypass.net, correct?
[00:03:18] Speaker B: That's correct.
[00:03:19] Speaker A: Well, Lisa Cunningham, you know, it's a joy to talk to you, and I am so excited about the Detroit senior Olympics, and hopefully next year I can become even more involved with you all.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: We'd love to have you come out, Randy, and it's so good to talk to you. My sister.
