Get active, social and healthy at the 2018 NSW Seniors Festival

2018 is the year that the NSW Seniors Festival turns 60 and what better way is there to celebrate this Diamond Anniversary than filling your week with exciting activities that will keep you active, social and healthy?

Every year the government, communities and many commercial organisations collaborate to host hundreds of events across NSW, providing seniors with the opportunity to make new friends or get together with old ones. With the 2018 theme of Let's Do More Together, events will encompass art, sport, music, technology, recreation, health, good nutrition and much more to ensure that there's an activity for everyone.

Running from April 4th – April 15th, the event is the largest festival for seniors in the Southern Hemisphere and is designed to celebrate the role seniors' play and the contributions they make to the NSW community.

Why is the festival important?

Numerous research and studies have shown that physical activity, social connection, mental health literacy and a sense of purpose are key factors in enhancing and maintaining older people's mental health and wellbeing.

Ensuring you are exercising, eating healthy and socialising with others regularly are huge components in ensuring seniors have good wellbeing - low alcohol consumption is also a crucial factor in maintaining good health. Older people can be more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol due to physiological changes associated with ageing.

According to the 2016 NSW Population Health Survey, older people (17%) are the most likely to drink daily and an increasing number people aged 50+ are drinking at very risky levels (11 or more standard drinks).

The 2018 Seniors Festival is a great opportunity to learn about staying healthy, reducing your alcohol intake and making friends.

Who is the festival for?

Presented by the Department of Family and Community Services (FACS), the festival is aimed at people over 60, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders over the age of 50, and those over the age of 50 that have a lifelong disability.

Minister of Ageing Tanya Davies commented: "For the past 60 years, NSW Seniors Festival has been a way of acknowledging the important roles seniors play in society.

"The NSW Government is working to offer new experiences for older people to enjoy and ensure NSW seniors are living active socially connected lives in their later years."

Do you want to get involved? Find out more about Seniors Festival by visiting seniorsfestival.nsw.gov.au.

Learn more about the effects of alcohol at A-Z of Drugs | Alcohol.