	{"id":105150,"date":"2025-03-02T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-01T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/?p=105150"},"modified":"2025-02-26T21:22:11","modified_gmt":"2025-02-26T10:22:11","slug":"helping-seniors-connect-in-the-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/helping-seniors-connect-in-the-community\/","title":{"rendered":"Helping seniors connect in the community"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>OLDER residents in Lismore will have the chance to explore new activities and community connections when the Lismore Seniors Festival returns from March 3 to 15.<\/p>\n<p>Run by Lismore City Council with funding from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, the festival is part of the wider NSW Seniors Festival.<\/p>\n<p>This year&#8217;s theme, Time to Shine, highlights the vibrancy and potential of life after 55.<\/p>\n<p>Lismore City Council sport and recreation lead Kristy Lennon said the festival encourages older residents to embrace new experiences.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s about stepping into the spotlight, whether through creative expression, physical activity, or social engagement,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Every event on the program aligns with this message, offering opportunities to learn, move, create, and celebrate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Whether it&#8217;s through dance, storytelling, trivia, or sport, the goal is to highlight the vibrancy and potential of older residents, reinforcing the idea that life after 55 is full of possibilities.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_30038\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-30038\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-30038 \" src=\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/29\/2025\/03\/image004_63109.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-30038\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The trivia night is a popular event at the seniors festival. Photo: SUPPLIED.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There will be come and try days for bowls, croquet, softball and table tennis along with aqua aerobics and park walks.<\/p>\n<p>Art and craft is on the program with a trivia night and plenty of chances for people to gather for meals and a chat.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m keen to see the &#8216;Writing Your Life Story&#8217; workshop, which encourages seniors to preserve their memories for future generations, and the Art with Aunty Jenny which will undoubtedly be a beautiful creative experience,&#8221; Ms Lennon said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The positive feedback we received last year affirms the festival&#8217;s importance and we&#8217;re excited to keep delivering an event that enriches lives and fosters a strong sense of belonging.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Bookings are essential with a full program of events at <a href=\"http:\/\/lismore-events.bookable.net.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lismore-events.bookable.net.au<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All activities are free with no prior experience needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OLDER residents in Lismore will have the chance to explore new activities and community connections when the Lismore Seniors Festival returns from March 3 to 15. Run by Lismore City Council with funding from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, the festival is part of the wider NSW Seniors Festival. This year&#8217;s theme, Time [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/helping-seniors-connect-in-the-community\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":105151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-105150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Helping seniors connect in the community - Ballina Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Join the Lismore Seniors Festival from March 3-15 to explore creative activities, sports, and community connections. Celebrate life after 55 with new experiences!\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/ballinatimes\/news\/helping-seniors-connect-in-the-community\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Helping seniors connect in the community - Ballina Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Join the Lismore Seniors Festival from March 3-15 to explore creative activities, sports, and community connections. 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