During the COVID-19 crisis, the Pasadena Senior Center, 85 E. Holly St. has been deemed by the city of Pasadena to be a vital community resource, so it is open on a limited basis on weekdays.
Many free activities for adults 50 and older are offered online until mandates for isolation and social distancing have been lifted.
You do not have to be a member of the Pasadena Senior Center to participate. Please note that many activities require online registration in advance. Everyone who registers for Zoom events will receive email instructions for joining the activities online.
LA Opera: Music to Remember – Ongoing, Tuesdays at 2 p.m. Members of the LA Opera repertory company will perform each week online via Zoom. This program will continue throughout the pandemic isolation period. For more information and to register, call 626-795-4331.
Arthritis Exercise Class – Ongoing, any time. This series of fitness videos is designed to help maintain mobility and physical fitness through range of motion, balance and weight-bearing exercises, stretching and a short aerobic portion. Use your own one-pound weights and wear comfortable clothes and sneakers. Some exercises are done while sitting in chairs and others while standing. To participate, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Online Classes, then Arthritis Exercise Classes.
Meditation – Ongoing, any time. Relax, breathe and make the most of 20 audio recordings that provide guided meditation during these challenging times when so many older adults feel isolated, lonely, anxious and depressed. The meditation sessions are led by Avry Budka. To participate, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Online Classes, then Meditation.
Exercise Classes for Sy Graff Fitness Center Members – Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, July 6 to 31, at 10:30 a.m. and noon. Classes are led by instructor Peter Matus online via Zoom. Use your own set of two-pound or five-pound weights. To register, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Online Classes, then Fitness Center Classes. For membership in the Pasadena Senior Center’s Sy Graff Fitness Center, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on About Us or call 626-795-4331.
Cultural Thursdays: Great American Songwriters/Greatest Hits – Thursdays, July 9 to 30, from 2 to 3 p.m. Join pianist Bob Lipson and commentator/performer Don Snyder on Zoom for a fun and interactive journey through the lives and works of some of America’s greatest popular composers. To register or for more information, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org and click on Lectures and Events, then Online Events.
Virtual Book Club – Friday, July 24, at 1 p.m. This month’s novel is “The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Michele Richardson. Inspired by the true and historical blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service of the 1930s, the novel tells the story of raw courage, fierce strength and one woman’s conviction that books can carry us anywhere – even back home. For more information, call Judy Starlight at 626-685-6760.
In addition to online classes and other activities, members and non-members are encouraged to visit the Pasadena Senior Center website (www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org) regularly for COVID-19 updates and other timely information, a weekly blog, monthly magazine and more.
Weekly Blog – Written by Events Director Annie Laskey, the blog consistently includes creative and inspiring ideas for staying safe, sane and engaged during isolation. It can be accessed from the Pasadena Senior Center homepage (www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org).
Feeling Challenged by Technology? Help is Available! – Through a collaboration with Pasadena Public Library, get solutions to technology issues, learn how to use Zoom and much more. Email ask@cityofpasadena.net/libanswers.com, call 626-744-4066, option 6 (leave a message and your call will be returned) or live chat Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at www.cityofpasadena.net/library/live-chat.
Telephone Reassurance – Pasadena Senior Center volunteers call older adults in isolation who have signed up for this important program that provides caring connections to help them make it through isolation and loneliness. To be added to the list, call 626-685-6732.
For more information about Pasadena Senior Center programs and services, including more online options for classes, events and activities during the COVID-19 crisis, visit www.pasadenaseniorcenter.org or call (626) 795-4331.
The center, at 85 E. Holly St., is an independent, donor-supported nonprofit organization that has been deemed an essential service provider for older adults by the city of Pasadena, so its doors remain open five days a week for social services and other assistance to older adults in need. Hours during this period are Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
