CASS COUNTY — Older adults looking to begin their Easter celebrations a little early can visit the Cass County Council on Aging, which will host an afternoon meal.

The COA will host an Easter dinner from noon to 1 p.m. today at the Lowe Center, 60525 Decatur Road, Cassopolis, and at the Front Street Crossing location at 227 S. Front St Dowagiac. The doors for the event will open at 11:45 a.m. Senior citizens and the general public are welcome to attend. The lunch will cost $5 per person, regardless of age.

“It’s a yearly event and we will serve ham and mashed potatoes,” said event organizer Sandi Hoger. “We have all kinds of different things: Of course, eggs, Easter cookies and things like that.”

There will be an assortment of candy available at the event and a giveaway. Plenty of Easter-themed music will also be played, including songs such as the “Easter Parade” and “Here Comes Peter Cottontail.”

This is an event that the COA hosts every year.

“Well because [our members] like it, they ask for it,” Hoger said. “They want  us to do it, so we have it every year.”

This is not the only holiday meal or celebration that the COA will host this year. Other holiday celebrations include St. Patrick’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Christmas.

“We have a lot of holiday meals here,” Hoger said.

The COA is an organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of its members and its staff has found that holiday meals are a way to help them accomplish that mission.

Each year, the Easter event attracts a lot of previous attendees, as well as some new faces.

Following the event board games will be played and the Euchre Club will meet. Attendees are welcome to bring their own board game or play one that is already at the COA. No events are scheduled for the following day due to Good Friday.