Westminster-Canterbury of the Blue Ridge is a place that attracts active residents who like to stay busy – and with more than 40 group activities, there are always plenty of things for them to do, together, with their neighbors.

Take, for instance, pickleball. Never heard of it? It was the fastest-growing sport in the United States for the last two years. It’s kind of like tennis, except the court is only a third the size. Wikipedia describes it as “an indoor or outdoor racket/paddle sport where two… or four players hit a perforated hollow polymer ball over a 36-inch-high net using solid-faced paddles.”

It’s fun. As Lila Mait, the chairwoman of our Resident Activities Committee, describes, “Pickleball is very popular,” and the players carpool off to nearby Darden Towe Park three days each week.

But if that’s not for you, no problem. There are resident group activities for every taste and interest.

There are so many that when Lila became chair of the committee, she wanted to fully understand the range of what was available, of all the activities run by residents for residents. So she created a list, complete with contacts and meeting times.

You may have read about a few of these activities before on this blog, such as the two book groups, the ecumenical Bible study, the Foreign Policy Forum, Weekend Walkers, the Westminster Institute of Lifelong Learning, woodworking, and the Gallery Walk art exhibits.

You’ll no doubt see future articles on others, but for now, just to provide an idea of the full scope of such activities at WCBR, here are some of those others:

• Billiards Women
• Billiards Men
• Bingo
• Mah Jongg
• Memoir Writing
• Men’s Group HC
• Needle Work Group
• Painting Classes
• Ping Pong
• Poker
• Coffee Social
• Singing Seniors
• Story Telling
• Residents Helping Residents
• Tavern Talks
• Puzzle Exchange
• Rise Against Hunger
• HC Sing Along
• Caregivers Group
• French Lunch
• German Conversation
• Hearing Support
• Pen-Pals
• Raised Bed Gardening
• Volunteers for Health Services
• Reading to the Visually Impaired
• Water Aerobics
• Family Council
• Vitrine

Lila herself is one of the two contacts for the “vitrine” group, which maintains the displays in the elegant wood and glass case near our main lobby. We wrote about the vitrine a few months ago, when Bill Baskerville showcased his railroad collection in it.

Not that this will be the full list if you check a few months from now. “It is a moving target,” says Lila. “In the time frame when I created it, these were the ones that were meeting.” Our passionate residents have expertise in many genres of interest, which means the list will continually grow.

For instance, she’s had to add the Duplicate Bridge club, in addition to the Contract Bridge club. And in January, another new program will begin: Residents will gather in the Pantops classroom on Fridays to watch “The Great Courses,” starting with “The World Was Never The Same: Events That Changed World History.”

There’s always something new happening at WCBR.