Seniors at the Pacific Regent retirement community are preparing for Oscar night, which takes place on March 27, by recreating prominent Hollywood film scenes through photography, and through a planned red-carpet event.

The idea came to fruition when resident Zack Elander received a calendar from a friend through email. The calendar Elander received came from a senior living facility in Germany, and it was filled with professionally shot photographs of residents dressed like famous film characters, including those from James Bond and the Wizard of Oz.

“I chair two resident committees and decided to bring up the idea of doing something similar here at Pacific Regent,” said Elander. “I knew we’d have to do it the right way—professional photography from Kirk Tran; costume design by Kyra Stewart of ‘A Masquerade and Costume’ in Redmond, Washington; and makeup from Chrystal Koivisto. If we were going to create these still images, they needed to have a Hollywood touch.”

Once the resident committees and the retirement community were on board with the plan, resident volunteers—20 in total—were sought out to dress up like their favorite movie characters.

“I obviously had an idea of what we were trying to create, based on the original calendar I received from Germany,” said Elander. “There really are no words to properly express how much I think we went above and beyond in what became the final result.”

The photographs have since been turned into notecards and a community calendar for Pacific Regent.

“This was an investment in our residents and their desire to create something truly memorable and unique,” said Kelly Callahan, Executive Director of Pacific Regent. “We couldn’t be happier with the end result and decided a celebration was in order.”

The celebration Callahan speaks of will be a red-carpet event at Pacific Regent on March 27. The event will begin at 4:30 p.m., and residents who took part in the photoshoots will be dressed in full costume to reflect some of Hollywood’s most iconic on-screen moments.

The event will have hors d’oeuvres and dinner, which will be followed by a watch party at 7:00 p.m.

Two Pacific Regent community members recreate a scene from ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ Courtesy of Pacific Regent.

A Pacific Regent resident screams in terror as she is picked up by King Kong. Courtesy of Pacific Regent.