Seniors gather for first Lust for Life expo

They don’t call them the golden years for nothing — that was the message Sunday at the first Lust for Life Senior Expo hosted by the Community Center of La Cañada Flintridge.

The event included more than 20 workshops featuring yoga, ballroom dancing and financial management. And two dozen vendors, including Verdugo Hills Hospital, the Pasadena Senior Center and the La Cañada Flintridge Country Club, distributed information about active lifestyle activities.

Some attendees enjoyed back massages at the Health Source booth, while others played with rescue dogs from the Pasadena Humane Society.

“We put this event together to really give our most senior residents of the foothill communities an opportunity to come and see products and services that are geared specifically to them,” said organizer Keisha Chandler.

The expo was designed as a convenient one stop shop for individuals who have limited transportation options, Chandler said. The resources available can help seniors enrich their lives, she added.

“There is a misconception in La Cañada that it is an affluent community, and it is,” Chandler said. “But the truth is a lot of people 55 and over are living on fixed incomes. Their homes are paid for but they are struggling to put together how to get affordable health care...”

The idea for an expo came up in the fall, and planning began in earnest in January, said Megan Nordvedt, executive director of the community center. It was part of a larger effort to reach out to the local residents, she said.

“We would like to reconnect with the senior community because they are some of the most important people who got the center start 60 years ago,” Nordvedt said. “We serve a lot of youth, and teens and adults, and the senior are important here in the community. And we want them to know that the center is here for them too.”