By Meagan IngersonThe Daily Northwestern
Two dozen senior citizens sauntered through the lounge, making eyes at one another and giggling. The workshop leader called for them to go back to their glamorous days of flirting in tuxedos and party dresses.
“Who can remember that far back?” one guest joked, miming a drink in her hand.
The cocktail party game was part of Laughing Yoga, one of nine workshops offered at Evanston’s ninth annual Aging Well Conference held Friday morning. Organizers estimated 140 people attended this year’s event at the King Home, 1555 Oak Ave., which aims to help seniors cope with the aging process.
“This year we wanted to focus more on fun and laughter,” said Susan Cherco, co-chair of the event’s planning committee.
The event included workshops with titles such as “Seated Aerobics” and “Creative Expressions in Later Life,” as well as a performance by “Those Were the Days” Radio Players, who re-enacted classic radio scripts to conclude the conference. In previous years, the event has closed with a keynote speaker.
“I think one of our goals was to schedule or plan workshops that would appeal to a very broad base of interests and ages,” co-chair Margaret Gergen said.
Evanston ombudsman Nancy Flowers, who has helped plan the conference since it began in 1999, said the goal of the conference has always been to change common attitudes toward aging.
“(We wanted) some kind of conference that would change the image of older people as these frail folks … and help folks see themselves and help the community see them as vital parts of the community,” Flowers said.
The conference opened with an address from Mayor Lorraine Morton, who has spoken at the event every year. Afterward, participants attended two workshop sessions of their choice.
Flowers said the conference originally focused on the more positive aspects of aging, but that the planning group has tried to become more candid in the past few years by offering workshops on topics such as grief and depression.
“I think what we found was that we as a planning group are a lot more hesitant than the seniors are (to cover certain topics),” she said. “We don’t like it, but they have to deal with it.”
Amanda Jones, senior crime prevention specialist with the Evanston Police Department, ran a workshop entitled Scam-a-Rama, which told participants how to recognize fraudulent mail and telephone offers.
“Financial exploitation is the number-one crime against older adults,” Jones said of the workshop. “Prevention is always our best bet.”
Evanston resident Dan Lara, 74, attended Jones’ workshop as well as a session on maintaining emotional health. He said it was his second year attending the conference.
“I always want to take care of myself as an older person, especially when it’s free,” Lara said. “I could sit at home and how would I help my life?”
Virginia Gilbert, 77, also of Evanston, said she has come to the event for four years. She said the conference serves an important purpose for the community.
“People get information that they didn’t have before and sometimes you have to pay to get this type of information,” Gilbert said.
Louis Weathers has gone to the conference for the past three years. As a member of the city’s Commission on Aging, which provides support for the event, Weathers said he hopes the event provided resources for the city’s seniors.
“I think the purpose is to assimilate information to the seniors and also provide sort of an outlet for them to socialize a little bit,” he said.
Reach Meagan Ingerson at [email protected].
