KITCHENER -- They are a fixture at festivals and parades across the region, and on Monday evening the Waterloo Shrine Oriental Band got the chance to play once again.

The Shriners, which have been put on pause during the pandemic, were entertaining crowds at the Parkwood Mennonite Seniors Home in Waterloo.

The group serenaded the staff and residents to show their appreciation for front line workers.

They also stopped by an outdoor birthday party for Rory Banfield, whose father surprised him with a unique present.

“There’s a fellow Shriner here and it’s his son’s seventh birthday, and we could also coordinate a trip around the retirement home, retirement community, so it’s kind of fun to see a smile on some of those faces,” says Rollie Galbraith, president of Shrine Oriental Band.

Each year the Waterloo Shriner’s Oriental Band raises around $10,000 for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.