Senior fair offers information, freebies

ENCINITAS — Hundreds of seniors strolled by booths decorated in red, white and blue Thursday morning at the

Encinitas Community and Senior Center to learn about a variety of services, including health care, housing, finances and…

ENCINITAS — Hundreds of seniors strolled by booths decorated in red, white and blue Thursday morning at the Encinitas Community and Senior Center to learn about a variety of services, including health care, housing, finances and recreation.

The 16th annual Senior Information Fair was hosted by the city and the Senior Citizen Commission as a way to introduce seniors to more than 65 businesses, services and nonprofit organizations that serve them.

Nick Buck, the city’s recreation supervisor, said the fair normally attracts between 400 and 500 people, and for five years has been held at the senior center on Oakcrest Park Drive.

In addition, he said it gives the city a chance to educate people about the center’s programs, because “it gets seniors here who haven’t been before.”

Lee Vance, chairman of the commission, said the fair is “a unique opportunity to get service providers and vendors in one place.”

He noted that the event includes a free lunch and dance after the fair.

“Some come for dancing, some come for lunch and others come for the freebies,” he said jokingly.

According to two attendees, who wore patriotic plastic leis, the freebies are part of the fair’s attraction.

Asked why she attended, Donna Hirschon of Encinitas joked that she came because “my friend told me she got enough pens for a year” at the 2006 fair.

On a serious note, she said she wanted to check out housing options.

“Eventually, I would like to live in a retirement home,” she said, adding that the fair was a chance to learn about a variety of them.

Her friend, Anne Cassidy, said she was interested in learning about home care.

“It’s nice to have it (information) at hand, and in person it’s better,” she said.

My Linh Tran, assistant manager for the county’s Aging and Independence Services, said the fair helps increase the visibility of organizations that serve seniors.

“Sometimes, the North County seems underserved, because a lot of the services are” in the southern part of the county, she said.

Tran said the event is a way of highlighting local services, such as home-based care, health care and legal services, and fitness classes that are available to seniors and adults with disabilities who live in the North County.

For the Scoffins of Encinitas, the fair is more than just a means to information.

Three years ago, J.M. Scoffin ran into a friend at the fair who he hadn’t seen in awhile. After learning that Scoffin was a widower, he said his friend introduced him to Carol, who was then a widow and is now his wife of 18 months.

“It all started at the senior center,” he said of their relationship.

Carol Scoffin said they attended this year’s fair to get information on health assistance programs for her mom, as well as information on travel.

As the couple smiled widely, they said they mostly just enjoyed spending a special day together.

“It’s also kind of our anniversary,” Carol Scoffin said.