The Edina Senior Center is a whirlwind of activity. The Edina Singing Seniors practice on Mondays. You might want to follow that up with a tap dance class or a bridge game. Maybe you’re interested in understanding how Uber works, or you’d like to join a book club. There are cooking classes and special speakers and trips on the schedule, too.
Nicole Gorman is the recreation supervisor at the Edina Senior Center. Gorman joined the center last winter and immediately began making plans for this year. Her first order of business was getting to know the 1,500 members and building on the offerings and activities already in place.
The senior center offers a wide range of activities from card playing and mah-jongg to dancing and wine tasting. Members can sign up for sponsored trips or attend educational workshops on issues that are of interest like health care decision making and how to communicate with your family about those issues.
It’s a vibrant and active community. Members will travel together in October to New York City on a tour that takes them to Ellis Island and other points of interest, and they have traveled around the region to events like a tulip show in Iowa.
Skai Auleciems is a long-time member who has served on the advisory council in the past. She says the most important benefit of membership has been the friendships that started in senior center activities. She first came to the Edina Senior Center when she was searching for somewhere to play mah-jongg and she found a whole world of things to do.
“Every activity you can name, we have!” Auleciems says.
The Edina Senior Center is owned by the city and operated through the parks and recreation department. Anyone 55 and older can join. Membership for an individual is $17 per year and for a couple it is $27 per year. Non-members can participate in some activities.
“Seniors can get involved with the program by simply stopping by for a tour of the facility,” Gorman says. “The can also pick up a copy of the Times, the monthly newsletter published by the center.”
She’s still relatively new to the Edina Center, but Gorman has worked in two other senior centers, so she has a sense of what brings interest and excitement to this kind of organization. She is looking forward to developing new programs and expanding current offerings. The center moved to its current location in 2002 and it has been a part of the city of Edina’s commitment to community organizations that offer opportunities for involvement for all of Edina’s citizens. With that in mind, Gorman says one of the things she is focusing on for the future is expanding those opportunities.
“I’m excited about continuing to build and foster relationships with other community organizations.” Gorman says. “I’ve seen [senior center members] gain friendships, have a better quality of life and become more engaged within their communities, as well as feeling like a contributing member to their communities.”
If you are looking for fun and friendship, you want to dig deeper into an interest or hobby, or are just looking to be more involved in the community of Edina, the Edina Senior Center has something for you.
