The East Palo Alto Senior Center will be reopening Friday after shutting down for two years during the COVID-19 pandemic, city officials announced.

The senior center, located at 560 Bell St., will resume all operations, programs and services, according to the city.

“No one ever expected that a pandemic would occur nor that it would last over two years,” said Millicent Grant, executive director of the center. “Thankfully, the senior center had and continues to provide food for the seniors that are shut-in.”

East Palo Alto Mayor Ruben Abrica was equally as excited about the reopening.

“With this joint reopening, we will strengthen the collaboration of city, county and Senior Center Incorporated to provide more services to our multicultural senior community.”

The official reopening will take place on Friday, June 17, from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. There will be a ceremony from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. with musical performances and a recognition of senior honorees. Food and drinks will be provided.

The mayor will be in attendance, along with other elected county officials, East Palo Alto City Council members, and seniors, of course.

Visitors are strongly encouraged to wear masks despite their vaccination status. Social distancing will also be respected.

Katy St. Clair got her start in journalism by working in the classifieds department at the East Bay Express during the height of alt weeklies, then sweet talked her way into becoming staff writer, submissions editor, and music editor. She has been a columnist in the East Bay Express, SF Weekly, and the San Francisco Examiner. Starting in 2015, she begrudgingly scaled the inverted pyramid at dailies such as the Vallejo Times-Herald, The Vacaville Reporter, and the Daily Republic. She has her own independent news site and blog that covers the delightfully dysfunctional town of Vallejo, California, where she also collaborates with the investigative team at Open Vallejo. A passionate advocate for people with developmental disabilities, she serves on both the Board of the Arc of Solano and the Arc of California. She lives in Vallejo.