Skip to content

Club opens doors to Nanaimo seniors

NANAIMO – Nanaimo Harbour City Seniors to showcase club activities and membership benefits at upcoming open house.
SAMSUNG CSC
Carla Stein

Mature citizens 60-plus, looking to try something new and meet new people, might want to go out to Nanaimo Harbour City Seniors’ open house.

Displays, demonstrations and door prizes are on the event schedule at Bowen Park activity centre, where club members will show off woodworking skills, painting, sculpting, pottery, stained glass creations, dance and exercise routines and more from the club’s classes and programs put on by the City of Nanaimo’s parks and rec department.

“It’s to make the seniors in Nanaimo aware that it’s a friendly place to come and there’s loads of programs that they don’t even know about,” said Joanne Husband, Harbour City Seniors marketing director.

Many of the programs have no monthly charges, so getting in on a lot of the activities costs just the initial club sign-up fee.

“In the big hall where we’re holding it, they’re going to have tables for each program,” Husband said. “The wood carvers are going to have a table and there’ll be two or three carvers there. The exercise instructors, there will be two or three of them there, and they’ll be explaining what the classes are and that you don’t have to be an expert to come.”

Harbour City Seniors offers dozens of indoor and outdoor activities and programs, including billiards, knitting, pottery and ceramics, yoga, tai chi, music and dance programs, including Latin and ballroom dancing, country line dance, badminton, darts, carpet and lawn bowling, computer and social media skills development, day travel excursions and more. There’s even a ukulele club.

Activities available at Bowen Park will be showcased during the event, but people considering joining the club will also want to look into what seniors programs are available at Oliver Woods Community Centre. Refreshments, coffee and cookies will be offered at the open house and door prize gift baskets will be given away, too.

“The door prizes are going to be awarded throughout the event, not just at the end, so that people who only come for half an hour get a chance to win,” Husband said.

Of course, an open house event aims to drive up membership – there are about 1,500 members at any give time – and Husband said a lot of new members signed up at the the 2014 open house when they saw what the club had to offer.

This year’s open house happens March 3 from 1-3:30 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, please call 250-755-7501 or visit www.nanaimoharbourcityseniors.com.



Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
Read more