Big Day for Seniors
mark your calendar for UW-Eau Claire’s annual Senior Americans Day, where next year’s focus is on fun
Smartphones. Zumba. Social media. None are topics that one might immediately associate with senior citizens – or, to be more specific, with the stereotype of seniors as knitting grandmas and whittling granddads whiling away the hours in their rocking chairs. Those stereotypes are just that – stereotypes – which explains why the annual Senior Americans Day at UW-Eau Claire has included sessions about social media and smartphones alongside more “traditional” senior-sounding topics such as golf and gardening.
“We really want it to be about getting out there and having fun, and living life to the fullest,” says Adam Coolidge of the university’s Continuing Education office, which sponsors the event.
If you’re not familiar with Senior Americans Day and you’re in the 55-plus demographic, here’s the scoop: Billed as the largest senior event in Wisconsin, Senior Americans Day is an all-day conference on the UWEC campus that will be held for the 29th year next June 6. Each year’s event features about 50 workshops in a wide range of categories, including hobbies, health and wellness, history and current events, entertainment, cultural diversity, and spirituality and final affairs. In addition, there are more than 75 exhibitor booths, health screenings, food (a continental breakfast as well as lunch), and a keynote address. Next year, the latter will be provided by Dr. Stuart Robertshaw, a.k.a. “Dr. Humor,” a UW-La Crosse professor emeritus and attorney who “currently serves as president and CEO of the National Association for the Humor Impaired.”
While the lineup of workshops for 2017 hasn’t been determined, last summer’s schedule included the aforementioned high-tech topics plus dozens more, including everything from tai chi to travel to local history to charitable planning to therapy dogs.
Registration will begin in March. To join the mailing list and get a copy of the brochure and registration information when it becomes available, visit www.uwec.edu/ce. And if you’re interested in getting involved as a presenter, sponsor, or volunteer, contact Adam Coolidge and the university’s Continuing Education office at (715) 836-5637 or coolidga@uwec.edu.
