Bellingen Shire Seniors Festival 2023
Published on 16 January 2023
Bellingen Shire Council is excited to be part of the NSW Seniors festival the largest seniors Festival in the Southern Hemisphere offering a range of free events, workshops and activities for those in our community aged 65 years and older. Themed Celebrate Together – the Bellingen Shire 2023 festival offers a diverse calendar of events throughout the month of February. It will inspire and motivate seniors to be active, socialize and share their skills and wisdom while connecting with the community no matter what their background or ability. This festival is an opportunity for seniors to develop new skills, meet people with similar interests and find out how they can get involved with other events throughout the year.
Running from 1-23 February in partnership with a range of services, groups and individuals there is something for everyone including music, arts, history, film screenings, tours, dance, info sessions, sport and rec, wellbeing and more.
A highlight of the festival is the free lunch and service stalls event expo which will be held at the Bellingen Golf Club on Thursday 9 February from 11:00am-2:00pm. The day includes food, guest speakers, entertainment and lucky door prizes. Service stalls offering support to seniors in our community will be present and available for a chat about what they offer and how they can support the senior members of our community. Some of the services that will be present on the day include: Community Transport, Australian Unity, My Aged Care, Mid North Coast Legal, Mission Australia, Subee, CareXCell, Home Instead, Stepping On Program, NSW Health, Livable and Hammond Care.
The program of events includes a range of activities designed to give seniors an opportunity to connect, celebrate and exchange ideas and experiences while also acknowledging the importance of engaging in creative activities to foster good health and wellbeing as people age. Some of the activities on offer include:
- MOBILE HEARING BUS– free hearing checks in Bellingen, Dorrigo and Urunga
- GRANDPARENTS STORYTIME and morning tea at each of our Library branches in Bellingen, Dorrigo and Urunga
- CARERS GATEWAY TALK and morning tea – Bellingen and Dorrigo
- FILM SCREENING of “ELVIS” at the Old Gazette Theatre in Dorrigo
- SEATED CHAIR YOGA at the Urunga Neighbourhood Centre
- GUMBAYNGGIRR CULTURAL RAINFOREST TOUR with Indigenous Ranger Matt Flanders
- 2BBB RADIO TOUR in Bellingen
- RECYCLED CRAFT and morning tea at the Urunga Neighbourhood Centre
- STEPPING ON Falls Prevention Program at St Margaret’s Church, Bellingen
- FISHING MORNING at Mylestom
- FREE FILMS at the Libraries2BBB Radio Tour
- HERITAGE WALK in Urunga
- STORIES IN NATURE Workshop and creative techniques for aging in Mylestom with Giri Mazella
- RETIREMENT SEMINAR Financial strategies for retirement
- WATER TREATEMENT TOUR of the Dorrigo Water treatment plant.
Full-calendar-of-events-Seniors-Festival-2023_1.pdf(PDF, 108KB)
Bellingen Shire Mayor Steve Allan says “the Seniors festival is one of my favourite times of year, because we get to shine a light on the remarkable and irreplaceable members of our community – to celebrate their contribution.”
All festival events are free and require booking in advance. For more information and to view the full calendar of events, visit Council’s website www.bellingen.nsw.gov.au or contact Councils Community Wellbeing Planning Officer on 6655 7300.