News and list of events

Creative Age Edmonton presents the 2013 Creative Age Festival during Seniors Week, June 4 to 9. Enjoy refreshments and entertainment during arts cafés (variety shows) at five seniors centres: Calder Seniors Drop-in Centre, Mill Woods Seniors Activity Centre, North Edmonton Seniors Association, South East Edmonton Seniors Association (SEESA) and Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton (SAGE). Participate in art and theatre workshops, take in art and photography exhibitions, enjoy theatrical performances and support senior talent (age 55+) at an open mic session. For more complete information, go here.

Edmonton Meals on Wheels will hold its Big Wheels Deliver Meals show ‘n’ shine and barbeque fundraiser on June 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. “Our seniors love the excitement of a city celebrity delivering meals in a vintage car” and “our celebrities love coming back to Meals on Wheels and enjoying a mouth-watering BBQ, visiting with guests and touring lovely vintage cars on display”. Proceeds help Meals on Wheels “raise needed funds to help subsidize meals for those who cannot afford them”. The event takes place on 103 Avenue between 111 and 112 Street.

REACH Edmonton is offering a free community leadership training session June 8 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Northgate Lions Seniors Recreation Centre. For more information and to register, go here.

The Arthritis Society Walk to Fight Arthritis will be held June 9 at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Park, 13221 Buena Vista Road, Edmonton, beginning at 10 a.m. (registration begins at 9 a.m. To register and for more information on how raise funds, go here, email jdemarco@ab.arthritis.ca or call 780-424-1740. “The Walk to Fight Arthritis is a 1 km or 5 km fun-filled family event that unites communities in supporting the 4.6 million Canadians living with arthritis.”

The Jewish Senior Citizens’ Centre presents An Evening with Bobby Cairns on June 9 at 7 p.m. The cost is $15. Cairns began his professional career as the guitarist for Tommy Banks at the age of 16 and has had a 40+ year career as an arranger and composer, lecturer, adjudicator and performer. He has been chair of the Guitar Program at Grant MacEwan University for more than 30 years.

A World Elder Abuse Awareness Day proclamation event will be held in Edmonton on June 14 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Central Lions Seniors Recreation Centre, 11113 – 113 Street. The event will include a presentation, displays and refreshments. Attendees are asked to show their support by wearing purple. For an event poster, go here.

Welcome Home, a volunteer-based befriending program operated by Catholic Social Services for individuals and families making the transition from homelessness to home through Housing First agencies, is the fundraising beneficiary of Homeward Walk Run 2013, hosted by Homeward Trust Edmonton on June 23 beginning at 9 a.m. at the Snow Valley Ski Area. For more information and to register, go to here.

Minerva Seniors Studies Institute offers a free presentation on Eye Issues of Aging from 2 to 4 p.m. on June 24 at MacEwan University’s City Centre Campus, Room 9-207, 10700 – 104 Avenue, Edmonton. Refreshments will be provided. For more information and to register, call 780-497-5082.

June 30 is the deadline to nominate Daughters of the Year for recognition during a special event in Edmonton on Sept. 1. “Think of women who impress you for how they are making life better in our communities, how they exemplify qualities or actions that inspire others, or demonstrate exceptional achievement, perhaps in the face of significant challenges.” Nominations may be made for arts, culture and entertainment; business; community service and volunteerism; education; health and medicine; human rights; public service and politics; science and technology; and sports and recreation. For a nomination form, go here. For information about the initiative, go here.

Westend Seniors Activity Centre will hold a Klondike Picnic on July 24 from 12 to 2 p.m. “Includes Klondike-style luncheon, musical entertainment and games. Guests are encouraged to come dressed in their best Klondike outfit.” The centre is located at 9629 – 176 Street. For more information, call 780-483-1209.

Calder Seniors Drop-in Centre hosts the Roaring ‘20s Show presented by Richard and Deborah Popovich at 1 p.m. on July 26. The show features “tunes from the 1900s to the end of WW II. Celebrate K-Days and dress up to win a special prize.” Tickets are $20, coffee and cake included. The centre is located at 12963 - 120 Street, Edmonton. Call 780-451-1925 for more information.

The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital's Older Adult Rehabilitation Team provides information and printed resources for caregivers of older adults. The information can be found here. If you wish to have a printed version of the resources, call 780-735-6142. Some of the topics presented are activities of daily living (hygiene, oral health, dehydration); behavior changes (signs and symptoms of delirium); safety in the home (falls, medication management); and caregiver concerns.

The Housing Opportunities Program for Edmonton helps "qualifying homeowners bring their homes to a minimum standard of health and safety relating to plumbing, heating, electrical, structural, fire safety, disability modifications and energy efficiency.” HOPE offers conditional grant funding up to a maximum of $20,000. Applicants will be considered for up to $2,000 in additional funding for energy efficient upgrades and may also receive up to $1,000 for exterior home improvements. For more information, including an application package, go here.

While 80 per cent of baby boomers describe themselves as healthy, nearly 85 per cent do not eat the recommended number of fruits and vegetables per day, while more than 40 per cent fall short of ideal physical activity levels. A fifth describe themselves as smokers and 11 per cent suggest they are heavy drinkers. Such habits, the Heart and Stroke Foundation says, are setting survey participants up for years of disappointment. To read The Canadian Press article Boomers who want healthy old age must work harder, poll suggests, go here.

To listen to Gay Hanna, executive director of the U.S. National Center for Creative Aging, talk about maintaining a creative mind as an older adult, feeding your creative spirit, setting aside “silly roadblocks” and having fun, so that your later life “leaps with spunk and sass”, go here.

The Carrot Community Arts Coffeehouse, located at 9351 - 118 Avenue in Edmonton, runs an open mic session each Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. for Zoomers (Boomers with Zip). “If you’re a singer, musician, storyteller, poet, comedian, magician, actor, etc., come along to The Carrot and share your talent with others.” For more information, contact Ann Jones by emailing windsorhouse@shaw.ca or calling 780-752-4867. For more information about The Carrot and the Arts on the Ave organization that operates it, go here.

Wecan Food Basket Society is a non-profit organization that helps seniors “stretch their food dollars and buy healthy fresh food” at a reasonable cost. Every month the society organizes a group grocery buy and distributes the purchases through 30 depots in and around Edmonton. On or before the first Friday of the month, members (annual membership is $5 but potential members get a free one month tryout before they join) go to their nearest depot and pre-pay for their groceries. On the third Thursday or Friday of the same month, members return to the same depot to pick up their groceries. For more information, call 780-413-4525 or go to www.wecanfood.com. To find out if there’s a depot near you, go here.

The Cerebral Palsy Association in Alberta (CPAA), through the new Age Works Initiative, wants to “encourage seniors to be active in the community and make a difference in others' lives” by “creating an open environment for seniors to learn about volunteering opportunities and the benefits of volunteering”. Through the CPAA’s Mentorship Program, seniors can “stay active after retirement within their professional or personal areas of interest”. For more information, go here. To attend a presentation about the benefits of volunteering, call Elizabeth Kaleta at 780-477-8030 or email elizabeth@cpalberta.com. For more information about the CPAA, visit www.cpalberta.com.

The City of Edmonton's Waste Management Branch offers an assisted waste collection service for customers who have difficulty getting their recycling or garbage to the curb or lane. Collectors pick up garbage or recycling from outside the front or back door of the home. There is no additional charge for this service. For more information call 780-496-5698 or go to www.edmonton.ca/waste.