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News and Events for Seniors

COVID-19 Resources

If you're looking for resources relating to COVID-19, including delivery services, health information, seniors organization service changes and more, please visit our COVID-19 resources page.


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News for seniors


Free masks for seniors

If you're an older Edmontonian seeking masks, there are several distribution centres you can contact. Reference page two of this document to find a distribution centre near you.  


Coordinated Pandemic Response Packages and PPE Supplies

The Edmonton Coordinated Pandemic Response Group has secured resources to distribute essential PPE supplies and other resources to seniors throughout Edmonton. This program provides low-income seniors access to PPE; activity packages; hygiene, incontinence and denture cleaning supplies; M&M Meats packages; and food security gift cards. Learn more about the initiative.

Seniors living in the community who wish to access the program on their own without a referral through an organization can call 780-701-9007 and leave a message. They will be called back by a Sage Seniors Association employee to schedule a delivery.

 

Events & activities 

Seniors serving organizations regularly provide updates to ESCC about current activities. These are updated to our online Connecting Edmonton Seniors calendar. If you want to learn about what’s happening right now, please consult this calendar.  


If you’re seeking an overview of events and activities available throughout the year, please consult our online 2020-2021 Recreation and Wellness Directory for Older Adults.  


Current Senior Centre Programs

These program guides indicate current offerings from Edmonton’s various seniors centres. If you’re interested in taking part in any of these programs, please contact the centre directly to verify if an activity is taking place. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, seniors serving organizations have needed to quickly pivot their programming on a regular basis. Following the Alberta Government’s November 24 emergency announcement, several seniors serving organizations have suspended in-person programming, however, many continue to offer online and phone programming.  


Other activities you can do from home

ESCC is continuously compiling online resources to keep you busy while you’re spending more time at home throughout the pandemic. From opera livestreams to online puzzles and boardgames, this list will keep you busy!  


ESCTV

Edmonton Seniors Centre

With no software to download and no fees to pay, ESCTV is a great innovative service that will stream local content curated for the 55+ community. Watch here.


Friendly Phone Call Programs

Are you feeling lonely and wish you could connect with someone over the phone? Local friendly phone call programs provide an opportunity to socialize while staying safely at home. Once you are signed up for a program, someone will call you (often weekly) to check in and chat. Call 211 for a list of friendly phone call programs. You can read more about how friendly phone initiatives are helping local seniors on page 15 of the most recent Edmonton Prime Times edition.  


Alberta Seniors' Centre Without Walls Phone Program

This telephone-based social group for seniors offers social and health programming, free of charge, and provides seniors opportunities to socialize, learn new skills, and stay connected. Seniors' Centre Without Walls is open to seniors age 55+ living anywhere in Alberta. To see what's current, view their December calendar here. Visit the website to learn more about the program and call 780-395-2626 to register.


Aging with Pride Phone Program for 2SLGBTQ+ Seniors

2SLGBTQ+ seniors can access remote phone programming through Aging with Pride. The group meets on the first and third Wednesday of every month at 4 p.m. While there is no set age limit, participants should identify as older adults. All genders, sexualities, and abilities are welcome. To participate, call 1-855-703-8985 and enter the meeting ID 293 631 2402. For more information about pride seniors programming, email seniors@pridecentreofedmonton.ca.


Listen to The Shared Mic Podcast by Age Friendly Edmonton

This new intergenerational podcast brings together people from all ages, stages, and backgrounds to discuss topics like navigating relationships, finding space to be your true self, and the evolving role of technology in our lives. By creating space for intergenerational discussions, AFE is building a city that values, respects, and actively supports citizens from all walks of life. You can listen to The Shared Mic online or through your favourite podcast streaming service, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Spotify. 

https://thesharedmic.blubrry.net/ 


Virtual Men’s Shed

Men’s Sheds Association of Edmonton, Downtown Shed

Fridays, 1 – 3 p.m.

Free

The Downtown Men’s Shed has moved meetings online. The virtual shed provides an opportunity for Edmonton men to meet for casual coffee chats and socialize over shared interests and hobbies. To learn more and register, email Michael at michael.hoyt@edmonton.ca.


Online learning opportunities 

  • Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC) offered by the University of Alberta include Astro 1010, Bugs 101, Dino 101, Mountains 1010, Introduction to the Arctic, Indigenous Canada and several paleontology topics.
  • EPL from Home offers a variety of resources, including eBooks, eAudiobooks, movies, eMagazines and newspapers, music, and online classes for all ages. If you do not have a library card, register for free online for immediate access to EPL's digital content. 
  • Open Culture curates and centralizes free online cultural and educational content from around the world. Their resource collections include audio books, eBooks, movies, online courses from top universities, and language learning resources.
  • The Great Courses is a compilation of mind-expanding learning opportunities. Learn about anything and everything from renowned subject-matter experts that are hand-selected for their ability to teach and to make even the most complex concepts accessible and enjoyable.
  • Coursera offers hundreds of free courses featuring on-demand video lectures, homework exercises, and community discussion forums.
  • Ask the Genealogist is a great resource for genealogy buffs. This online club by the St. Alberta Public Library is a great resource to assist with your research.
  • Get Cooking Edmonton offers online cooking classes. Learn to whip up decadent pavlova or make a mean batch of butter chicken. The options are endless!


Virtual tours of world-class museums and heritage sites


Music/Theatre/Film/Literature/Culture

  • The Metropolitan Opera will host free Nightly Met Opera Streams of past performances from its Live in HD series. The encore presentations will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST each night on the company’s official website and will then be available for an additional 20 hours thereafter.
  • The Seattle Symphony will share free rebroadcasts of past performances via the Symphony’s social media channels on YouTube and Facebook.
  • BroadwayHD has a library of hundreds of Broadway productions (paid service)
  • CBC introduces Movie Night in Canada
  • Online Music Education Games
  • Joe’s Pub Live offers a free series of live-streamed and archived performances from their stage in New York City each Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8 PM Eastern.
  • The National Film Board of Canada’s online Screening Room features more than 3,000 films that you can stream for free or downloaded for your personal use for a small fee.
  • Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 8 p.m. Eastern l'Orchestre symphonique de Montréal will stream a concert from its archive.
  • CBC Music will be keeping an eye out for Canadian musicians' live streams and updating this list as often as possible.
  • Uke 101: Learn to play the ukulele

  • National Arts Centre: The NAC is broadcasting #CanadaPerforms concerts via their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter). You can also search these platforms using the #CanadaPerforms hashtag. The NAC will also share other content such as podcasts, suggested online theatre, dance and music performances, past NAC Orchestra recordings and videos. NAC Orchestra musicians will also offer individual performances and more.

  • National Theatre in London presents National Theatre at Home. Every Thursday beginning April 2 they will release a new play along with bonus content including cast and creative Q&As and post-stream talks. Each week’s content will be free for one week.
  • Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is airing professionally-filmed Shakespeare plays every two weeks for free. Other free content includes readings of Shakespeare’s works and performances of Shakespeare plays in multiple languages.

  • "CreativeBug Libraries" is a virtual platform hosting arts and crafts classes. Access thousands of art and craft instructional video classes with your EPL card.

  • See a new side of Edmonton by checking out the City’s virtual exhibits 

  • Watch online tours of Frank Lloyd Wright sites by searching #WrightVirtualVisits on social media. Past tours will also be posted online.

  • From Nov. 23 until December 21, Nikon is offering its online 10-class series for free.  

  • The Stratford Festival is streaming performances of Shakespeare plays. 

  • The Winspear and Edmonton Symphony Orchestra present a new digital series, Live at the Winspear: From Stage to Screen featuring ESO musicians. Check the Winspear website for live streams and video releases or watch past performances.

  • The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra musicians have their own Facebook page where you can participate in Q&As and learn about the musicians. 

  • Edmonton Opera at Home is a great way to indulge your passion for opera.

  • Pro Coro Canada has curated a collection of their past video and audio choir performances.

  • Calgary's TD JazzYYC International Jazz Days Festival is a wrap for this year, but you can still view videos of the performances  and education videos on their YouTube channel.

  • Shumka has moved their popular Seniors Can Shumka and Silver Swans (inclusive ballet and movement) classes to an online format.

  • The Canadian Play Thing is a playwright-centred virtual theatre that shares live readings of new and under-produced Canadian plays online.

  • Jim Clayton has been performing nightly "piano bar" live streams since the pandemic began, where he takes requests from his growing audience. The evening includes a virtual tip jar, which goes to Glad Day Bookshop's emergency fund, helping artists, performers and tip-workers from the LGBTQ+ community. Nightly, 9 p.m. (Eastern)

  • Listen to upbeat music and commentary on a new online radio station called Radio Recliner. The bonus is that all the DJs are older adults living in senior living communities across the United States!

  • Quarantine Concerts: In the age of COVID-19, there’s no shortage of great virtual concerts to choose from. Whatever your jam is, this roundup of concerts is constantly being updated with new musical selections to rock or mellow out to.

  • Electronic Story Creations: The Citadel Theatre's [esc] Series will feature electronic story creations by four different groups of artists throughout the summer.

  • Traditional Country Music Tuesdays: Every Tuesday Musician Ryan Snow plays songs by the likes of Charley Pride and Ian Tyson on his Facebook page.


Science and Nature


Fitness 


Religious Services

Games/Puzzles/Books/Crafts

  • Learn how to make beautiful Indigenous beaded crafts with online tutorials by Moonstone Creation
  • This post from Lifehacker outlines board and card games you can play online. 
  • This post from Boston.com lists board games you can access online.
  • Tabletopia has 800 board games including Bridge.
  • Play a game of scrabble through the Internet Scrabble Club.

  • Glass Book Shop offers free delivery to homes in Edmonton, Sherwood Park, and St. Albert with the purchase of books. 

  • Audrey's Books provides free delivery for orders over $50 in Edmonton, Sherwood Park and St. Albert. 

  • Table Top Cafe offers free delivery for board games/puzzles/food orders over $50, 7 days a week. Call 780-905-3577 for details.
  • Each week, ElderCare Edmonton is releasing a new activity booklet for seniors. The booklets include puzzles, word searches, colouring, crafting instructions, recipes, and much more.
  • Board Game Arena connects you to more than 185 board games
  • Virtual Bingo

  • Drawize (Pictionary-style game)

  • The National Trust for Historic Preservation highlights 15 Free Historical Colouring Books.


Socialize 

  • A new mobile app called Amintro is helping to tackle social isolation among seniors by providing camaraderie through peer-to-peer networking. New members answer a series of questions about their background and interests: Do they like walks or movies? Do they have grandchildren? Where did they grow up and where do they live now? After answering the questions, the apps algorithms work to connect the user to other nearby app users with similar profiles.

  • BYOB (Bring Your Own Book Club) Edmonton Public Library is hosting a virtual book club!  While participants won't all be reading the same book, this will be a great conversation anyway. After all, isn't half the fun of book club getting off topic and talking about other books? Check EPL's calendar for more upcoming events.


Health and Wellness

  • The Alzheimer’s Society of Alberta and the Northwest Territories is offering free presentations for people with dementia and their partners by phone or computer. Go to www.asantcafe.ca for additional details. 
  • Text4Hope:  Seeing the bright side can be hard when times are tough. Because of this, Alberta Health Services is offering a free service, Text4Hope, to provide messages of positivity. The program provides three months of daily Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based text messages written by mental health therapists. The messages include advice and encouragement that can be helpful in developing healthy personal coping skills and resiliency. Text COVID19HOPE to 393939 to subscribe. Note: the program provides one-way communication and does not replace other mental health therapies and supports.

  • ElderDog Canada helps older adults take care of their canine companions, including tasks such as dog-walking and transportation to and from vet appointments. For more information about how to access these services in Edmonton or for information about volunteering, call Kim Chivilo at 587-988-9946. 


Activities and support for caregivers 


Although in-person programming has been postponed due to the pandemic, Caregivers Alberta continues to offer support through their Caregiver Advisor, online programming, and online Caregiver Support Community groups.

The Caregiver Advisor provides one-on-one support. You can connect by:

Phone: 780-453-5088 | 1-877-453-5088 (toll-free)

Email: ladams@caregiversalberta.ca


Online Workshops

Upcoming:

Upcoming workshops are posted online. Check back frequently for new dates.


Past workshops: 

Watch past online workshops on the Caregiver Alberta YouTube channel at any time. 


Online Peer Support


Well Connected by ElderCare Edmonton and Caregivers Alberta
Wednesdays, 10 - ­11 a.m.
Free
This new program provides community-based programming in a virtual setting. Stay connected by participating in activities, education, and friendly conversation. Both caregivers and care recipients are welcome to participate! Register through Eventbrite to receive a Zoom link.


Norquest Caregiver Workshops 

The college has a number of helpful workshops to help family caregivers. Workshops take place online and are offered on an ongoing basis. For more information about these courses, visit www.norquest.ca/family-caregiver.


Nurse Next Door 

This service is available 24/7/365 to provide immediate care. Nurse Next Door provides you with all the necessary support you need day to day so you can continue to live your life as you have been living.  When you book a free Caring Consult, you’ll meet with a Care Designer who will design a comprehensive home careplan using Nurse Next Door's Happier Aging™ approach matching you with a perfect-fit caregiver who can help bring the plan to life. Services range from friendly companionship to around-the-clock nursing care, including respite care, personal care, alzheimer's and dementia care, as well as palliative care to provide comfort and peace of mind.

Contact:

www.nursenextdooredm.com

780-800-5756

edmonton@nursenextdoor.com