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Month of May
exciting time
for area seniors

If you follow the events listed in the “Golden Agenda” (issued by the Cumberland County Office On Aging) for the month of May (Senior Citizen Month), you can be in for a lot of very entertaining and informative events.

One such event took place recently at Gias in Bridgeton with the county Senior Citizen Talent Contest.

First, hats off to the directors of the Charlotte Brago Senior Center, Farifireld Township Senior Center and The Downe Township Senior Center. The three centers collaborated on holding a special event honoring seniors and showcasing their talents. If you missed it, you missed out on a great entertaining and inspiring event. The contestants ranged in age from 62 to 86 and demonstrated some pretty amazing talents.

From the melodic and soothing sounds of harpist Susan Bold Reed to the toe-tapping guitar duet performed by Howard Earling and Wayne Cossaboon, the afternoon would not have been complete without a little “senior” humor, which was provided by 86-year-old Mary Macho.

The overall show had 13 participants. There were singers, dancers, a blues piano player, a flute and viola duo and even a harmonica player. Mr. Hank Tapkin, a U.S. veteran, brought the crowd to their feet as he stood up out of his wheel chair to sing his rendition of “God Bless America.”

Vineland’s own Warren Crescenzo walked away with second place for his performance of music from “South Pacific.” As the emcee said, “He’ll make your heart skip a beat.”

Also, I was very proud of the “JOY” dancers, who come from our Vineland Senior Center. The ladies range in age from 62 to 86, and their turquoise and white matching outfits complete with sequined trimmed cowgirl hats set them apart from the rest. The line dancing was commendable, too!

Age is but a number, and attitude is what will demonstrate your “true” age. I truly hope that this will become an annual event. Now that more folks are aware of it, I’m not only hoping more will come out to support it, but also more consider participating and sharing their acquired talents that may have been put on the shelf for a while.

Everyone who participated was a winner in their own right. The third place winner was an 86-year-old tap-dancer. What will you be doing at 86? Food for thought!

Mary Barner

Director

Vineland Senior Center