Senator Joseph Addabbo Jr. partnered up with the Queens Public Library to host an Older Adult Fun Day on Monday, Nov. 18.
The event at Rego Park Library honored the community’s older members while providing them with free activities for their enjoyment. The day was full of exercise, drawings, and a musical concert.
“It’s important to create opportunities for our older adults to engage in meaningful activities that promote creativity and well-being,” Addabbo said.
“Today’s fun day is a celebration of their vitality and a reminder of the joy that comes from learning and connecting with one another.”
Addabbo was joined by Dennis Walcott, the President and CEO of Queens Public Library, who thanked him for supporting the borough’s libraries. His state funding allocations have included a creative aging series along with multiple other activities at the Library.
The Fun Day began with instructor Valerie Green leading a creative movement class featuring stretches, abstract movements, and light exercises. Green encouraged participants to move at their own pace and only do what they felt comfortable doing.
Karen Fitzgerald then led the group in contour drawing, where she taught attendees how to draw different types of leaves. The added challenge was looking only at the leaf and not down at their paper and moving the pencil across the page using different amounts of pressure to create dark and light areas.
“There’s not a bad drawing in this room; they are all gorgeous,” Fitzgerald remarked as everyone held up their papers.
“Be kind to yourselves. You are learning a new thing. Draw every day. Draw irregular things and within a week, you will see your drawing skills skyrocket.”
To conclude the memorable event, the band Squeaky Clean played a one-hour concert with members Suzanne Smithline and Glenn Paul Manion. They performed oldies and classic Rock n’ Roll favorites including: ‘All Shook Up’, ‘Runaround Sue’, ‘Lollipop’ and ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’.
Many of the attendees clapped and sang along as they clearly enjoyed the band’s renditions of the classic tunes.
