ONTARIO — Attendees of all generations were “grooving back to the ’70s” at the Richland County Fairgrounds Thursday at the annual Senior Spring Extravaganza.
Ohio District 5 Area Agency on Aging serves Ashland, Crawford, Huron, Knox, Marion, Morrow, Richland, Seneca, and Wyandot counties. It has programs for people of all ages but specializes in the care of residents with disabilities or ages 62 and older.
Trae Turner, chief of community living for the local Area Agency on Aging, said more than 700 seniors attended last year’s spring extravaganza and he expected to exceed that number this year.
The AAA5 handed out 800 meal tickets within an hour and 15 minutes of opening the doors. Seniors from all nine counties that the area agency serves attended the extravaganza.
“We do the extravaganza annually with a different theme, and this year, we went with a 70s theme since we’re also celebrating our 50th anniversary,” Turner said.
“We’re always focused on getting information and resources out, but being able to tie that in with fun and celebration is pretty cool.
“We have more than 80 community partners and vendors that are here to spread information about the resources they offer as well, so we’re grateful to them — that’s the reason it’s free to attend.”
The event sponsors for this year’s Senior Spring Extravaganza were Richland Public Health and ES Consulting.
Activities at the Senior Spring Extravaganza included brunch and snacks, a car show, music, dancing, bingo and area agency trivia for prizes.
Fusion. Marketing Group also brought entertainment with music and dancing contests.
Duana Patton, CEO of the Ohio District 5 Area Agency on Aging, brought her 1-year-old grandson Rowan to the Richland County Fairgrounds for the event.
“Celebrating 50 years with all these great people is amazing,” she said. “I’m on vacation this week with my grandson but I wanted to come out and have a party. We’re having a great time.”
Older Americans Month theme is ‘Powered by Connection’
Older Americans Month was first recognized in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. Each year since, organizations have hosted events celebrating older Americans across the country.
Turner said this year’s theme, established by the Administration for Community Living for Older Americans Month is “powered by connection.”
“The Older Americans Act is the foundation for the services we provide for seniors and people with disabilities in our community,” Turner said. “Area agencies are a big part of that local support to help seniors stay safe and independent.
“This year’s theme is ‘Powered by Connection,’ which I think is a great way to recognize all the meaningful relationships that seniors can take advantage of here. Events like this promote social connection, health and wellness, so we really love celebrating that.”
The AAA5 is based in Ontario at 2131 Park Ave. West. The agency’s phone number is 419-524-4144. It is also on Facebook.
