Festival welcomes Center on Aging to community

May is Older Americans Month. It is a time to honor and celebrate the lives and contributions of our older citizens.

“The May Festival: A Celebration of Generations,” running May 1-4, is being put on by the University of Maine Center on Aging as a unique way of introducing itself to the community while promoting intergenerational learning through entertainment, workshops, presentations and other educational and recreational activities.

The mission of the Center on Aging, established Nov. 5, 2001, is to promote the quality of life of older citizens, their families and community services while facilitating education, research, evaluation, and activities on aging, said Lenard Kaye, director of the Center on Aging and professor of social work at UMaine.

A luncheon will be held at noon, Wednesday, May 1, at the Holiday Inn, 500 Main St., Bangor, to kick off the festival.

The four-day festival encompasses a myriad of activities, but the one that I am going to highlight here is Senior Spectacular, hosted by Eastern Agency on Aging.

On Thursday, May 2, between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the Spectacular Events Center at 395 Griffin Road in Bangor will be home to Senior Spectacular, a health and fun fair providing information on everything from housing to hobbies.

“Aging in style best describes the vision behind the Spectacular,” said Deborah Chapman, director of outreach and caregiver support services at Eastern Agency on Aging. “This event will hopefully inform seniors of opportunities available to live life to the fullest.”

Twenty-two businesses and non-profit agencies will have tables brimming with information for attendees to peruse. There will also be demonstrations, workshops and entertainment.

“Eastern Agency is glad to be involved with this project because it allows us to interact with different organizations that perhaps we haven’t in the past,” said Chapman. “It is also important to view Eastern Agency as looking at the wide spectrum of the senior population – from the youngish 60-something individual to the frail, very elderly person who is housebound. We have something to offer both.”

Among the scheduled participants in the Spectacular is the UMaine Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program. Students receive at least 40 hours of training in the art and science of horticulture. Learning how to compost, discerning the difference between pests and beneficial insects, and getting the most out of Maine’s short growing season are just a few of the topics covered.

Those of you with pets may be interested in Jessie Bidol’s Friends and Familiars booth. Bidol teaches and employs the method of “Tellington TTouch,” a technique that provides practical and humane solutions for some of the more challenging behavioral problems among cats and dogs.

The key approach fosters an atmosphere of trust that enhances the learning process. TTouch can reduce fear, tension, confusion and pain that are believed to be the primary reasons for undesirable behavior in pets.

In other activities, the Maine Center for Osteoporosis Research and Education will offer free, non-invasive, painless screenings for osteoporosis.

The Warren Center for Communication and Learning will be on hand to provide free hearing tests. By the way, May is also Better Speech and Hearing Month.

And of course, Eastern Agency will be in attendance with information on its services and programs. Consultants will be available to help with questions.

Eleanor Weisman will facilitate a workshop on creative dance and how it can be used as a fun way to exercise. Other workshops include financial planning for retirement, and advance directives, such as living wills and power of attorney information.

Also, look for Julie Monroe who will be playing her guitar and singing folk songs.

“This is going to be a wonderful event and we’d like to welcome the Center on Aging, who’s kind of the new kid on the block,” said Chapman. “This will be a long lasting friendship and everybody will benefit. It is my hope that seniors will walk away from the festival with a better understanding of the diversity of things out there that can enhance their quality of life. And that’s really what it is all about.”

The registration fee for the May Festival is $2, and while most events are free, some require tickets to ensure adequate seating. For more information, call the UMaine Center on Aging at 581-3444.

Carol Higgins is director of communication at Eastern Agency on Aging. For more information on EAA programs or services, please log onto www.eaaa.org or call Chuck or Marilyn at 941-2865.