May Festival is Fundraiser for Local Agencies on Aging
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3756
ORONO — The University of Maine Center on Aging on the Orono campus and Eastern Agency on Aging in Bangor are partnering up for a gala swing dance fundraiser — “A Celebration of Generations” — on May 8.
The third annual event features local musicians The Moon Puppies playing dance music and performances by McKay’s Back Door Dance Studio’s premier dance team Zoot Suit Review between band breaks.
“The dance should be a wonderful way to spend the evening,” says Leah Ruffin, senior research associate with the Center on Aging and event co-organizer. The event will be great fun for all ages, Ruffin says: “Children, grandparents, parents… You don’t have to be an expert swing dancer.”
The annual event raises money for the respective agencies’ programs for older adults, Ruffin said. Also, it corresponds with May being Older Americans Month. This year’s theme is “Aging Well, Living Well.”
The dance and show is from 8-11:30 p.m. at the Bangor Elks’ Club on Odlin Road in Bangor.
The dance and show celebrates “the affirmation that Maine’s older adults are living active, healthy, productive lives,” according to Lenard W. Kaye, director of the Center on Aging.
“An event like this brings our community together in so many ways,” Kaye says.
Ruffin says the May Festival was one of the first events sponsored by the Center on Aging, and “it’s let the community know we are interested in being a part of our neighborhood. It’s been a popular thing over the years and we’d like to keep it going as a tradition.”
Tickets will be available at the door. Prices are $15 per couple and $10 for an individual. Information is available by calling (207) 581-3444 or (207) 941-2865.
The website for the UMaine Center on Aging is at www.umaine.edu/mainecenteronaging. The website for Eastern Agency on Aging is www.eaaa.org.