LAGUNA NIGUEL : New Center Brings New Energy to Club

With a new and larger center now open five days a week, seniors have responded enthusiastically to mushrooming opportunities to meet and mingle, a Laguna Niguel Senior Citizen’s Club board member said.

Since moving into its new temporary headquarters at the Plaza de la Paz shopping center in November, the club’s previous membership of about 250 has jumped by more than 20%, board member Roger Lance said. And this season’s seniors’ Christmas party was attended by 116 people, he said, one of the largest turnouts ever for the club.

“There’s a new energy coming forward with having the additional space and developing different programs,” Lance said. “It’s a great focal point. It’s an opportunity now for people to participate who have some free time to volunteer their skills.”

Previously, Laguna Niguel seniors met in a 1,500-square-foot room in a savings and loan building. The current headquarters, which opened in November at 27261-I La Paz Road, is twice as large.

It will be a temporary social center for Laguna Niguel seniors until construction is finished on the city’s new 11,000-square-foot senior citizens’ center at Moulton Parkway and Aliso Creek Road. The center is tentatively scheduled to open in June, 1993.

The interim center is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Group activities include modified aerobic classes, “sew and chat” gatherings and bridge and bingo games. Seniors can sign up to participate in one-day tours or just stop by the center to read or watch television.

In the future, the center will expand its activities to include other games and craft sessions, coin and stamp-collecting meetings and more and longer tours. The new center will also have a stage, allowing seniors to put on plays, Lance said.

For more information about activities at the center, call (714) 362-2937 weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.