Victorian Seniors Festival: An Opportunity for Social, Cultural, and Recreational Activities

Beginning this week and continuing throughout the month of October The Victorian Seniors Festival is hosting a variety of social, cultural, and recreational programs for you or your loved one to enjoy. These events are located throughout Melbourne as well as in major cities and rural areas throughout Victoria.

Whether you are interested in art, theatre, recreation, sport, or even food, this festival includes over 2000 programs appealing to seniors with different backgrounds and abilities. This year’s theme of “get into it” encourages you to try new things in order to engage with the community in new ways as well as make new friends. The festival also provides an opportunity to expand your comfort zone and learn a new skill or try a new activity. 

In order to increase the availability and accessibility of the festival, there is free public transportation for seniors in Victoria from today until Sunday, October 13th for both Melbourne city as well as V/Line train services. In order to take advantage of this offer, seniors must show their Seniors Myki Card as well as their Victorian Senior Card. 

Bringing a mobility scooter to get around various events and activities can be a safe and effective method of transportation. If you are thinking about purchasing a mobility scooter, this month is a great time to consider this purchase because Statewide Home Health Care is giving away a free rear bag with the purchase of every scooter in the Merits scooter range. 

There are a number of events taking place in the Melbourne CBD that we recommend as well as activities located near our store in Brighton East that are worth researching if you would like to attend events closer to home. 

Some of the highlighted events taking place around Melbourne are:

• The Festival Hub which is open daily and includes a number of partner and sponsor booths, displays, and information sessions
•  Knit for Peace which provides a space for people to knit together and donate their blankets and other work to individuals who are homeless 
• The Window Outside is a theatrical production about aging, illness, and making tough end of life decisions
•  Live Longer, Live Stronger allows seniors to be active through a purpose-designed exercise class 

If you are considering attending something more local to Brighton East, we recommend:

• Cards, Crazy Whist and Rummy O Tiles is taking place in Bentleigh and provides a social environment to play a number of different card and tile games
• Brighton Croquet Club is having an open day to learn more about the sport in Brighton
• Tai Chi and Qui Gong exercise class runs in Malvern East
• Looking further bayside, Hampton is running its own Seniors’ Week during the larger state festival 

We encourage you to visit the festival website to view the whole program and start marking your calendar with the events that you plan to attend in the coming weeks. You never know, you might even try something that you have not done before. As an old saying goes, if not now, when?