The 13th annual Aging Well Conference, which promotes strategies for healthy aging, took place Friday at Evanston’s North Shore Retirement Hotel.
“It’s highly regarded in the Evanston community,” said Vicki Botefuhr, director of operations at North Shore Retirement Hotel, 1611 Chicago Ave. “It shows their age shouldn’t stop them from doing things.”
This year marked the third time the conference was hosted at the retirement hotel, Botefuhr said. In conjunction with the conference, the film “Hats Off” – about actress Mimi Weddell, who worked into her 90s – was shown last Wednesday at the Evanston Public Library, 1703 Orrington Ave.
The event is a collaboration between 16 organizations, some of which include Services for Adults Staying in their Homes, the City of Evanston and Evanston/Skokie Valley Senior Services of the North Shore Senior Center.
The conference ran from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., requiring participants to pre-register at no cost. The 200 attendees then chose two out of 14 workshop sessions to partake in.
Botefuhr said the average attendee was around 75 years old, and most were from Evanston and Skokie.
Evanston resident Al Wiener attended “Balancing Act” and “Memory Loss: What Is It and How Can We Help?” and called both “very informative.” Although Wiener said the speakers sometimes conveyed information in overly technical ways, he said the experience was worthwhile. He plans to attend the conference next year.
Wiener said he especially enjoyed the session on memory loss, citing its emphasis on staying active and socializing with others to alleviate the problem.
“A lot of people – when they come to places like this – they hibernate, waiting for the next meal to take place,” said Wiener, referring to the North Shore Retirement Hotel, where he lives. “Being active is very helpful towards keeping your memory sharp.”
The speakers also encouraged seniors to see memory problems as a natural component of growing older, Wiener said.
“The most important part was that memory loss is part of the aging process,” Wiener said. “They said don’t chastise yourself for being forgetful.”
Botefuhr also highlighted sessions “Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Aging: What’s Unique” and “Eat Well, Age Well,” the latter being extremely well-attended.
“There was something for everyone,” she said. “A wide range of topics were offered.”
