Amy Golden, director of the Athens Activity Center, took over the “Senior Fun Fest” two years ago, and on May 9 she brought to life a tropical-themed festival for some good ol’ fashioned fun.
“This gives us an opportunity to bring in vendors and businesses that want to help senior citizens, but don’t know where to find them,” Golden said. “For our seniors, we get them together to socialize in a fun environment with some people their age.”
Golden expressed the importance of socialization for older people, and just how dangerous it can be if they don’t get the opportunity to talk to others on a daily basis.
“Social isolation is as deadly as any other disease that our seniors face,” Golden said. “We want to combat that. We want to make sure our seniors have a place where they can come to socialize, and eat together.”
The event offered a lot for the senior citizens to take part in from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Outside of a warm homemade meal and cold drinks for lunch, the event also featured live music and games for everyone to enjoy.
“People really don’t give our senior citizens enough credit,” Golden said. “We are teaching traditional hula lessons today because we want to do everything we can to keep these guys as active as possible. Our seniors really have a ton of energy that they can still use. ”
Golden also talked about all of the events that the activity center hosts each week outside of the “Senior Fun Fest,” noting the various lessons, crafts and games they have for senior citizens to come and take part in.
“We do more than just bingo,” Golden said. “Live music is every Thursday. We’ve taught classes on just about everything you can think of because we want to make sure they not only live a longer and healthier life, but a life that they enjoy.”
One of the more popular eventgoers on Thursday morning was Athens Mayor Ronnie Marks, who stopped by the festival to talk with just about everybody in attendance.
“This has been a highlight of my year so far,” Marks humorously said. “This is an event that you can just see how much people enjoy, and just how much we love our senior citizens.”