12 — Sunday, May 14, 1589 —- West Vancouver Villager

CARE TO slap on a pair of snowshoes and go for a hike?
Or maybe you’d like to pedal away the morning with the
cycling club or spend a leisurely afternoon learning the

Japanese art of fish pririting?

You might have io wait until
you reach sixty Gf you’re not al-
ready) since these are all activities
offered by the West Van Senior’s
Activity Centre. And tiie word
“activity” in that title is not in-
cidental.

For those still fixated on the im-
age of a seniors’ centre as a place
to play checkers, it’s time to read-
just the picture.

The West Van Seniors’ Activity
Centre’s extensive offerings put to
shame the old run-of-the-mill
bingo and lawn bowling offerings
of the past.

As upbeat as the programs going
on inside, the building’s exterior
looks more like an art gallery than
a seniors’ centre. Construction of
the ten-year-old building was
funded with a joint feder-
al/provincial/municipal grant, and
even won the architect an award of
excellence for design.

Step inside and the atmosphere
is that of a club — not a feeling of
exclusiveness but of calm comfort-
ableness. A hc.tess, one of the
centre’s 450 volunteers, greets you
and provides orientation if you
need it.

On the day the Villager visited,
hostess Edith Campbell provided a
guided tour of the building which,
although humming with activity,
she described as a ‘‘not very busy
day.””

{n progress was an intermediate
French class instructed by one of
the many volunteer member in-
structors. Down the hall, a group
of women warmed up their vocal
chords for an informal sing-along.
At the caffee bar, also staffed by a
volunteer, several people were lin-
ed up to buy hot beverages to sip
in the members lounge.

The lounge was occupied by
seven or eight people, all ensconc-
ed in the exotic cane chairs, some
engaged in conversation, others
quietly reading a newspaper.

Nearby, amidst the profuse
greenery of the garden room, vol-
untcer Keith Muir groomed the
plants.

The skylight-lit space is full of
ceiling to flcor shelves crammed
with palms, lilies, jade plants and
many others, most of them do-
nated, some for sale and others
simply there to be seen. Said Muir,
who would only divulge his age as
“over 70 by a fair bit’’: ‘‘The
whole purpose is to let seniors who
have given up their homes to see
and touch the plants."’

Muir, who also teaches a silver-
smithing course at the centre, had
a quick reply when asked if
members fc't the centre was their
own place — *‘Oh, it is my place,”’
he said with a smile. Apparently
3,000 other people feel the same
way and raembership increases by
100 every year.

Director of the centre, Lynda
Lyons, describes the membership
mix as ‘‘about 60 per cent women
and 40 per cent men.’’ Male
membership has increased steadily,
especially with the introduction of
special courses for men like cook-
ing, woodworking and Fit Fellas.

Membership is available to those
60 or over for a $10 annual fee
which allows members to drop into
some programs without charge or
to use the facilities on a casual
basis (such as the five men observ-
ed at the pool tables), and to
choose from the veritable
smorgasbord of affordable course

PICTURED IN the carpentry room of the West Van Seniors

BAN i
phate Miike Waketield

” Activity Centre are (left) Sy!via Lung, acting

program coordinator, and Lynda Lyons, director. The centre has received national and provincial recognition

for its facility management.

options from the educational to
the entertaining.

One of the most popular pro-
grams, Tai Chi, is cooperative, in
that it is open to both members
and non-members.

On the day the Villager visited, a
group of 15 was in the dance room
moving liquidly to the gentfe sound
of orienial music. These integrated
programs are part of the centre’s
philosophy.

Sylvia Lung, acting program
coordinator, explains that,“‘It is
the policy of our centre to have in-
tegration. We feel strongiy about it
..even though it’s called a seniors’
centre, it’s still a rec centre and is
open to anyone.”

x a)

Royal has it all for your pets

PET FOOD SPECIALS!

WHISKAS

380 g

PURINA MAIN
STAY 20 kg

HUSKY DOG
FOOD 703,

KEN-L-RATION
BURGER 2 kg

* LIFE JACKETS x

Sea-going friends need the protec-

97%.
+ 2°%

$419

(Specials May 14-May 20)

WEST VAN’S NEWEST PET STORE

ROYAL PET FOODS

1846 MARINE DRIVE, WEST VANCOUVER $22-3071

tion and security of a flotation vest.
On shove, this vest can double as a
warming jacket.

Co-op prcgrams encourage the
mixing of different age groups and
allows the centre to develop a posi-
tive image in the community,
which it seems already to have
achieved.

Lyons has been with the centre
for tO years, three as director, and
is proud of the attention it is at-
tracting.

“We won a Canadian and B.C.
award for facility management and
operation, We've had Mrs. Toyota
visit from Japan. They (the Japa-
nese) are looking at creating better
networks for seniors in their
culture, ’’ says Lyons.

She admits she's flattered that
they should choose the West Van

pS Ap eh,
ECR SEN

SRT
LENE:

centre for their field research, and
adds that ‘‘we've also had peuple
come from all over the country to
see the centre.”"

That’s quite an accomplishment,
considering that back in 1971 when
the West Vancouver municipality
did its initial survey to assess ex-
isting seniors’ facilities they were
almost non-existent.

There is a real loyaliy at the
West Van Seniors’ Centre. Volun-
teers with five and 10 years of ser-
vice are net uncommon. And for
those who can’t get to the centre
there are support services to make
friendly cails or to arrange rides.

For more information on the
seniors’ centre call 926-4375.

EE SEPT EN
Epeacaetien

ea