Learn to make the best of growing older at Aging Well Expo
Seniors make the rounds at last year’s Aging Well Expo. (Courtesy photo | City of Arlington)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image1-2.jpg?fit=300%2C187&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/image1-2.jpg?fit=746,464&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>As the upcoming Aging Well Expo in Arlington demonstrates, getting older brings with it a mixed bag of benefits and problems, more evidence that the senior citizen industry is big and getting bigger.The expo — a free Sept. 18 event at Esports Stadium, 1200 Ballpark Way — has been around as a city of Arlington endeavor since 2015, quickly growing out of its original home in the old (now demolished) Eunice Activity Center.There are two sessions, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.It’s a hundred-vendor montage of assorted needs and special interests for those 50 and older, notes Monique Jaquay, the city’s community events coordinator and the principal organizer for this year’s event.If you go:
What: Aging Well Expo
When: Sept. 18
Where: Esports Stadium, 1200 Ballpark Way, Arlington
Parking: Free event parking is available immediately west of Esports Stadium, and golf carts will be available to help participants with mobility issues.
Getting there: Rides with Arlington On-Demand rideshare service are free round-trip with the code agingwell2024, phone 817-784-7382; or with Handitran, also free with the same code, phone 817-275-3704. Note: Handitran requires booking in advance.With a median age of 32.8 years, according to census data, Arlington is younger than average for Texas — the state median is 35.2 years — and even younger still than the national median of 37.8.Nevertheless, 27% of Arlington’s population belongs to either the baby boomers (born 1946-64) or Gen X (born 1965-80), which calculates to a 50-plus population of more than 100,000.All of which results in booming attendance at the Aging Well Expo, filled with people who are interested in exactly that: aging well while living longer and making the most of golden years experiences, opportunities and lifestyles.Expo highlight speaker Tom Grieve,
longtime TV game color commentator and former baseball player. (Courtesy photo | Texas Rangers)There’s gentle yoga stretching, line dancing and dancing fitness. Maybe a ukulele band. Body mass index testing, fittings for diabetic shoes, which turn out to be comfortable footwear, diabetic or not. Also hand massage demos, nerve scans and pulse oximeters. Vision checks, hearing aid tests, representatives of senior homes, info about tours geared for seniors, and magazines with content catering to the half-century-and-up crowd, specifically “Seniorific News” and “Celebration Magazine,” which also offer a lot of traveling tips for seniors.“And some immunization shots for those that need to catch up on their medical maintenance,” Jaquay said. “The flu, COVID, RSV, shingles and things of that nature.”It’s a virtual one-stop shop for information on aging. Though many attendees simply show up as walk-ins, it’s also possible to preregister (sorry, the deadline for a free lunch has already passed). Preregistration as of early September was about 2,000. But, Jaquay said, there’s room for more. It’s a come-and-go kind of event.There’s also a mid-event speaker, typically a prominent member of the senior citizen clan. Last year it was former Cowboys wide receiver Drew Pearson. This expo it’s former Texas Rangers player, general manager and longtime game announcer Tom Grieve. Now 78, he’s in the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. Arlington Mayor Jim Ross will also address attendees.Grieve will speak at 11:15 a.m., midway between the morning and afternoon sessions.“The event theme this year is baseball, in honor of the World Series Champions Texas Rangers,” Jaquay said. “Participants are encouraged to wear their favorite Texas Rangers gear for the expo.”United Healthcare Medical Solutions, WellMed Optum Care and CenterWell Senior Primary Care are the presenting sponsors for this year’s expo.One final caution: There is an evening Rangers game that date with Toronto, first pitch 7:05 p.m., but attendees to the morning or afternoon Aging Well sessions should experience no more than usual traffic in the area.O.K. Carter is a columnist for the Arlington Report. You may contact him at o.k.carter@arlingtonreport.org. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
Comments (0)