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That’s the idea of Kristina Smaby, 21, a junior at Viterbo University who started a program five years ago called Connecting Generations.
As part of the program, Smaby has organized the Intergenerational Fair for the past three years, with the focus of bringing young and old together.
Last year, the event attracted about 600 people, she said.
Misty Lown, owner of Misty’s Dance Unlimited, is sponsoring the event this year and has brought four generations of her family to the event in previous years.
“I can’t think of a lot of other things we would go to that would bring all the generations together,” she said.
Smaby experienced the benefits of multi-generational relationships firsthand when Smaby’s grandfather lived with her family while she was in middle school. When her grandfather died while she was in eighth grade, Smaby said, she lost her best friend.
In additions to the annual fair, Smaby promotes her message through various pageants she is in and other Connecting Generations programs, including bringing groups of children to nursing homes and senior citizen facilities to form bonds with residents.
KJ Lang can be reached at klang@lacrossetribune.com.
