Pinkies Up! Afternoon Tea
It was “Pinkies up” at “Afternoon Tea for the Holidays” on Tuesday, December 5, at the Oak Park Arms Senior Living, 408 S Oak Park Ave, Oak Park.
The event was reminiscent of tea events held when the Oak Park Arms was a famous luxury hotel. Oak Park was a thriving young suburb in 1922 when the “ultramodern” Oak Park Arms Hotel first opened. The formal festivities included a banquet with menus printed on parchment with gold lettering and the hotel crest. In fact, for many years, the Arms’ menu was printed in French. Afternoon tea was frequently served.
“Our residents wore fascinator hats in our historic ballroom while staff served a selection of teas, finger sandwiches, scones, cakes, and pastries,” said Renee Steingard, director of resident engagement at the Oak Park Arms. “The throwback to decades ago when afternoon tea was in fashion was so much fun for the ladies of the Oak Park Arms.”
The terms high tea and afternoon tea are sometimes confused. Afternoon tea is a British tradition of serving food and beverage such as dainty sandwiches and pastries served with a steaming pot of hot tea. It started in the Edwardian period when ladies would meet at a hotel in the afternoons for an afternoon of leisure and gossip over a selection of little treats and a spot of tea.
High tea is a working-class meal eaten around five o’clock onwards, usually consisting of a hearty meal and a pot of tea. High tea was traditionally served ‘High’, meaning at a high table with high back chairs. It was typically a substantial meal of meat or fish, bread, vegetables, and tea, and it would feed the gentlemen and women who had been at work all day.
Afternoon Tea Photo Gallery
About the Oak Park Arms
The Oak Park Arms Senior Living is a rental retirement community which provides senior independent living apartments and a full schedule of activities for seniors. Furnished apartments are also available for a short-term stay – a weekend, a week, a month or longer.
For more information call 708-386-4040.
