Our History

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The Seniors Jubilee was for 20 years the largest showcase of older adult talent in North America. Its founding mandate was to train older adult amateur performers from communities across Ontario and provide them opportunities to display their talents on a prominent stage. Over the years, the Jubilee variety show expanded to become a 5 day concert festival that presented over 1,250 older adults variety performers each year, filling the theatre to capacity each day, with approximately 11,000 audience members. 

The Jubilee provided a variety of opportunities for 50+ adults to learn about the theatre, from months of rehearsals to backstage preparation through to final production week and performance. This long and exciting process served to heighten the self-esteem of older performers and for many, it granted the fulfillment of long ago dreams realized unexpectedly later in life. 

The concept was further developed at the grassroots level and the “Jubilations of June” program was conceived. A precursor of what was later a leading initiative of a much expanded entity for senior performers, the Canadian Organisation of Senior Artists and Performers (COSAP). In 1993 COSAP was incorporated as a not-for-profit organisation and in 2000 was registered as a Charitable Organisation.