Grandparents Day: Rooted in Culture, Wisdom, and Love

Since 1978, the United States has celebrated grandparents on the first Sunday after Labor Day. Mark your calendars—Sunday, September 11, this year.

Did you know there’s an official flower for National Grandparents Day? It’s the forget-me-not, which is also a symbol of love and respect. There’s also an official song—“Song for Grandma and Grandpa,” by Johnny Prill.

Click on the image above to open a PDF event flyer.

We hope that you consider ways to fill Grandparents Day with memories, promise, and love. Spend time with your grandchildren (or grandparents if you are young). Borrow a friend’s grandchildren or grandparents if you don’t have any of your own!

A nationwide organization called Generations United encourages everyone to “Do something grand!” on Grandparents Day. Their Grandparents Day Take Action Guide is chock full of ways you can mark the day.

Our local Grandparents Day celebration, hosted by the Mayor’s Council on African American Elders (MCAAE) and the Northwest African American Museum (NAAM), is a one-hour virtual event on Sunday, September 11. Highlights include a presentation by professional storyteller Zelda Foxall, who will portray her own grandmother—a civil rights activist in Shreveport, Louisiana; poetry by spoken word artist Kibibi Monié, who directs the Nu Black Arts West Theater; and entertainment by the NAAM African American Ensemble.

Co-sponsors with the MCAAE and NAAM include AARP Seattle, Age Friendly Seattle, Aging and Disability Services, and Seattle Human Services.

Participation in the virtual event is free and open to all. Pre-registration is requested at surveymonkey.com/r/GrandparentsDay2022.

To everyone who has (or had) a grandparent, is a grandparent, or wants to become a grandparent, happy Grandparents Day!

Contributor Karen Winston is a senior planner at Aging and Disability Services, the Area Agency on Aging for King County, and a division of Seattle Human Services. Karen’s portfolio includes the Mayor’s Council on African American Elders and coordination of Memory Sunday (June), Grandparents Day (September), and the African American Caregivers Forum (November).