Merton’s annual Celebrating Age Festival will not be held this year, with a series of consultation events to decide the future of the festival taking place instead, in the face of council budget cuts.
Joint organisers Merton Council and Age UK Merton will hold the events after it was decided that significant changes are necessary to secure the future of the Celebrating Age Festival.
August 2014: Exciting line-up announced for Merton's Celebrating Age Festival
Residents are encouraged to get involved to help design a series of future events, at a time when the council is having to make significant savings across all its services.
Positive Network leading the Zumba at 2013's festival in Wimbledon.
September 2013: PICTURES: Dancers mark start of Merton celebrating age festival with Wimbledon piazza performance
Using the borough’s libraries and organising roadshows to ensure maximum accessibility to the events are being considered, and the groups and individuals who usually participate in the festival will be involved.
The council says that the borough’s continuing work for older residents will centre on how they can develop new skills and learn something different.
The festival usually features a broad range of activities for the over fifties including ballroom dancing to bingo and IT sessions, afternoon teas and museum visits.
Merton’s outgoing cabinet member for adult social care and health, Councillor Caroline Cooper-Marbiah, said: “We are committed to ensuring Merton is a place where there are activities for older people to enjoy and clubs to join all year round.
“We are working on what Celebrating Age events might look like in the future.
“They are a great way of highlighting the positive aspects to older age, but it is the consistent year-round provision that is critically important to people’s quality of life.”
Age UK Merton chief executive Charmaine Bennett said: "There is limited public money available to continue to fund events like the Celebrating Age Festival, so things need to change and we want to get as many people as possible involved in how we design and fund any future Celebrating Age events.
“This is a great opportunity for people to influence how the events will look from 2017 onwards.
“Activities and good company are vital to ageing well, staying mentally astute and physically healthy.”
Details of the events and how to get involved will be published on Age UK Merton’s website at www.ageuk.org.uk/merton
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