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Last updated on Tuesday, April 21, 2015
(BLOOMINGTON) - In celebration of Older Americans Month, the City of Bloomington Commission on Aging invites the community to participate in the Fifth Annual Creative Aging Festival, a series of events offered throughout the month of May.
Several local organizations will be holding events, including art exhibits, musical performances, workshops and informational presentations. The events will help showcase the talents and skills of both established and emerging older artists, writers and performers; promote inter-generational understanding and increase awareness of the value of creative engagement.
The Commission is adding an inaugural event this year, the Creative Aging Festival Symposium. The two-day Symposium will be held May 14 - 15, and its presenters will include both national and local experts from health-related professions, the arts, community development and other relevant specializations. Each day of the Symposium will offer several events at various locations.
The featured presenter for Thursday, May 14, will be Maria Genne, Founder and Director of KAIROS Alive. Bell Trace Senior Living will present a session on the "Mind Body Spirit Connection at 10 a.m., 725 N. Bell Trace Circle. IU Health Bloomington Hospital will host a workshop, "Introduction to Moving Well," for healthcare professionals from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Wegmiller Auditorium of IU Health Bloomington Hospital, 601 W. Second St. Later that evening, a showing of the film "Alive Inside: A Story of Music and Memory," winner of the 2014 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, will take place at 6:45 p.m. at the Monroe County Public Library, 303 E. Kirkwood Ave.
On May 15, all events will be held at the Monroe County Convention Center. Admission for the full schedule of daytime events is $10. Keynote speaker Tim Carpenter, Founder and Executive Director of EngAGE, will present "The Art of Active Living." Also, several workshops will be held throughout the day. "The Beauty of Rust" will feature glass torchworker and artist blacksmith Michal Ann Carley, who will describe her experiences overcoming life-threatening physical challenges to continue as an artist; "Embodied Writing: Yoga and Creative Writing" with Michael McColly and "Rediscovering Ourselves as Artists" with several artists discussing how late-blooming artists have forged new paths in various media. In between workshops, participants can visit the Re-Market, which will showcase the work of local, re-purposing innovators. The market will exhibit recycled, one-of-a-kind items; antiques; hand-painted furniture and jewelry, as well as ideas on reinventing oneself. Throughout the day, there will be performances by local groups, such as the Sounds of Indiana, the Writers Guild at Bloomington and the Hungry Five.
The Symposium will conclude on the evening of May 15 with the event, "Time Travels: Soaring into the Second Act." This annual multi-generational event will include performers Chuck Rainey, Rod Taylor, Malcolm Abrams, Gladys DeVane, Ella Poletti and the Storyzilla Storytellers. Admission for the evening is $25 with proceeds benefiting the Endwright Center of the Area 10 Agency on Aging.
Copies of the Creative Aging Festival program guides will be available in many arts and aging venues in the community and City Hall, 401 N. Morton St. Request for a guide by mail can be submitted to Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov or 812.349.3468. The guide also will be available online at www.bloomington.in.gov/coa and http://www.creativeagingfestivalbloomington.com.
The Commission on Aging meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 4:30 p.m. at City Hall in the Hooker Conference Room, 401 N. Morton St., Ste 245. All commission meetings are open to the public and minutes from meetings can be found on the Commission's website at www.bloomington.in.gov/coa.
For additional information, contact Program Specialist Sue Owens at owenss@bloomington.in.gov or (812) 349 -3468.
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