Shriners turn a normal Wednesday into something extraordinary for a nursing home in Riverview, N.B.

The residents of the Grass Home in Riverview, N.B., were waiting outside early on Wednesday afternoon, making sure they had a front row seat to the show ahead.

At 1:30 p.m., a group of Shriners on top of their famous mini-cars rolled into the courtyard, driving past residents and spreading smiles with every lap.

“I thought it was funny,” said 101-year-old Vivian Helen MacFarlane. Her husband used to be a Shriner, so seeing the cars brought back a lot of fond memories for her.

“This visit is wonderful. These guys do great work and I’ll tell you, the people that are in the home here, they really enjoy it, and we hope they keep on coming,” said 85-year-old Charles G Ashe.

For Ashe, it was his first time ever seeing the Shriners and the mini cars in person.

“Oh that was just super. It took me back to my younger days. I always liked cars,” Ashe said.

80-year-old Evelyn Bell remembers The Shriners from their visit to The Grass Home in 2021.

“Oh I thought it was great,” Bell said. “When they said they were coming I couldn’t wait because I saw them when they were here last time and it is really something.”

Bell had a harder time picking her favourite part of the show.

“All of it! No part was favourite. Oh yes! The teddy bear and that’s because I collect them,” she said.

In between parades, The Shriners make visits in the community. They had two stops on Wednesday including their visit to the 36 residents and staff at Grass Home.

“It makes us very happy too, to be able to see people laugh and to also bring awareness to our cause which is to help children who are sick, who have diseases of the skin and to bring notice to the people that this is what we do,” said Rene Cormier, a past potentate for Luxor Shriners New Brunswick. “It’s especially nice because in Moncton here we have a lot of new immigrants and they wonder what this is for and once we explain it to them that we run a hospital for children in Montreal and throughout Canada and the United States and what we do, it brightens up their mindset.”

Cormier says the Shriners help send families in need to a hospital they opened in Montreal in 2015. While they are focused on children, he says the Shriners are welcomed wherever they go by people of all ages.

“We had one senior person, sit on one of the cars and the minute he sat on the car and put his hands on the handlebar, he was cheek to cheek smile,” said Cormier.

The entire visit was for the residents of Grass Home, but they made sure the Shriners weren’t driving away empty handed. A homemade, surprise Tim Hortons drive-thru was set up along their route, designed to be a perfect fit for a group of mini cars.

Activity Coordinator, Stephanie Thomson says special events like this bring joy and excitement into the home and give residents a chance to reminisce.

“They all have heard of the Shriners and know the good work that they do and it’s just a nice way to spend the afternoon,” she said. “The ladies all wanted their hair done, their nails done, they wanted a nice outfit. It’s been a good day.”

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