Mayor David Maher hugs one of the nearly 900 seniors attending the Harvard Senior Picnic held Aug. 4 on Harvard Yard. (Photos: Asad Butt)

Three musical groups performed throughout the day: The Mood Swingers, Evergreen Senior Chorus and Cambridge Senior Singers.

The year’s Harvard Senior Picnic was a musical affair.

Seniors arrived to live music performed by The Mood Swingers and, while enjoying a full day of warm weather and food, also heard performances from the Evergreen Senior Chorus and the Cambridge Senior Singers, said Sarah Kennedy, director of constituent services and community initiatives for Mayor David Maher. The Aug. 4 event was organized through the mayor’s office and Harvard University with support from the Cambridge Council on Aging.

“I am proud that Cambridge and Harvard University continue the tradition of celebrating and appreciating our seniors with this event,” Maher said.

For the mayor, though, it wasn’t the music that was most important. “I am happy to share this day with Cambridge seniors and to spend time listening to their stories,” he said. “Our city has a rich and diverse history; our seniors are a large part of carrying on those histories and memories into the next generation.”

(Arvilla Sarazen, leader of the Cambridge Senior Singers, naturally had a different take: “It was a terrific event with great music. We all enjoyed ourselves,” she said. “For those who missed it: Join us next year!”)

The event was hosted in historic Harvard Yard, between Memorial Church and the Widener Library, and drew nearly 900 seniors, Kennedy said. Prizes donated from local businesses, including coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores, were raffled off toward the end of the program.

This post was written from a press release.