Dance, Picnic, Tweet: It’s Seniors’ Month in Ontario

What can you do to celebrate this Seniors’ Month in Ontario?

Dress up in cowboy gear.
Play pickleball.
Laugh about estate planning.
Learn to tweet.
Dance at a sock hop.

Do it all as events are happening in communities across the province through June.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of Seniors’ Month and the theme is Aging Without Boundaries: 30 Years of Celebrating Seniors.

It recognizes “the contributions seniors have made to their community and the contributions they are still making every day across Ontario,” explains the Ontario Seniors’ Secretariat, sponsor of Seniors’ Month.

Many communities have barbecues, picnics and other events.

When the the 52nd anniversary of Seniors’ Month is celebrated in 2036, they’ll have to put twice as many hotdogs on the barbie.

The numbers of seniors aged 65 and over is projected to more than double from 1.9 million in 2013, to 4.1 million, or 23.2 per cent, by 2036.

Check out all the activities scheduled this Seniors’ Month at www.seniors.gov.on.ca/en/calendar/index.php

And find useful phone numbers, including the Seniors’ INFOline, at www.seniors.gov.on.ca/en/about/telephone_numbers.php

This month you can:

1) Dress in your best country/western get-up at The Avalon Goes Country event in Orangeville, June 11, 1p.m. to 3 p.m, Avalon Lodge, 355 Broadway, Orangeville.
Free entertainment, refreshments, line dancing, prizes and more.
Phone: 519-941-3351
Website: www.orangeville.ca/events/2014/06/09/seniors-week-events-and-activities

2) Play pickleball, badminton, snooker, table tennis and more in Richmond Hill at the 55+ Golden Games, June 9 to 13, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the McConaghy Centre, 10100 Yonge Street. Register early as spaces are limited. For further information, contact the McConaghy Centre at 905-737-1818.

3) Watch “The Accidental Inheritance: It’s Not about the Money” a comedy that highlights what can go wrong when estate planning is not carefully considered. Performed by Act II Studio, a theatre program in Ryerson University’s Programs for 50+, the humorous short play will be followed by a discussion on wills and estates planning led by Edward Olkovich, Toronto estate lawyer and a Certified Specialist in Estates and Trusts Law. The event takes place June 10, 1p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge St., Beeton Auditorium, Toronto.
Website: www.torontopubliclibrary.ca

4) Get introduced to Social Media: Facebook, Twitter and Other Sites for Staying Connected, June 11, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Ontario Society (Coalition) of Senior Citizens’ Organizations, 333 Wilson Avenue, Suite 406, Toronto.
This workshop will cover the social media sites Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (and others, if time permits) and show you how older adults are using these sites to stay connected and current.

5) Sip a Coke-float at the Sock Hop, June 26, 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., Meadow Park Chatham Inc., 110 Sandys Street, Chatham. For more information, contact Brenda Lucier, 519-351-1330 ext. 228 or [email protected]