JUNCTION SENIORS
A project of the Junction Residents Association (JRA)
Junction Seniors gather twice a week for an informal hour of conversation:
- on Tuesday mornings, 10-11 am, at Agora Cafe, 3015 Dundas St. W. (between Pacific and High Park)
- on Friday afternoons, 2-3 pm, at Pascal’s, 2904 Dundas St. W. (halfway between Keele and Pacific)
Drop by if you are interested in creating a social network of neighbours.
Contact: Eleanor Batchelder, 647-235-0843, or seniors@junctionra.ca
Here is some information about what else is available for seniors in (or near) the Junction. (The newest additions are at the top here, scroll down for older, more basic info.)
Lawn bowling, anyone?
Now that Spring is in sight, there are two lawn bowling clubs in the area that will probably be starting up:
* West Toronto Lawn Bowling Club, Baird Park, Humberside Avenue and Keele Street, is eager for new members: http://www.thewestbend.com/twbca/download/wtlawnbowlingclub.html
* Humberside Lawn Bowling Club, Clendenan Avenue & Glendonwynne Road — Call Nolan Reeds, 416-762-6117.
Other local groups with regularly scheduled activities:
• High Park Walkers (highparkwalkers.com) meets every Tuesday morning at 10 am in High Park, in front of the Black Oak outdoor cafe (1873 Bloor St. W., east of High Park Ave.), and also on the second Sunday of the month at 11 am in the same place. They walk throughout the various trails of the park, generally for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Syme55+ Centre, 33 Pritchard Ave. (see http://junctionra.ca/junction-seniors for more info on location, etc.)
See monthly calendar at http://www.syme55.com/page2.php, Travel Tour brochure at http://www.syme55.com/TravelTours.php, Spring Classes schedule at http://www.syme55.com/WhatsHappen.php
… and further away:
• Academy Walks, see http://www.allto.ca/talks.html for schedule for 4/24 – 5/28, all over the city. On Mon 5/28 they’re doing Bloor West Village and Swansea to Lakeshore, meeting at Runnymede Station at 10 am. This is a project of the Academy for Lifelong Learning at U of T, so you can also check the schedule there for talks, Weds 4/11 – 5/16, coffee at 9:45 am, speaker at 10:20 am.
• Knox College Summer Program has four one-week courses in August at the U of T: see website http://www.knox.utoronto.ca/summer-program/ or ask me to email a pdf announcement to you.
… By the way, there are a number of post-retirement “life learning” programs in the city. It would be a service to our little community if someone were to make a nice summary of them — I could post it here. Here are a couple of barebones listings on the web:
- http://dev.www.uregina.ca/catalist/courses/courses.html
- http://www.seniors.gov.on.ca/en/seniorsguide/learning_volunteering_2.php (see Third Age Network)
Annette Recreation, 333 Annette St. (bet. Evelyn and Laws), 416-392-0736 –Annette CRC offers a number of good fitness classes. It’s not trivial to find them on the website: for Osteofit, click on Fitness & Wellness, then on Older Adult. Also in the F&W tab are yoga, pilates, tennis, etc.; price per season for these classes are posted. For the “open” fitness classes (MWF morning and MW evening), go to the Drop-In tab. For these classes, there are several payment systems, depending on how often you want to come and how long ahead you want to pay for. Here’s a summary of the rates for older adults (60 yrs+):
- Type C Fitness membership (unlimited fitness classes and weight room use):
- 3 mos. $30.75 / 6 mos. $54.75 / 1 year $103.25
- Pay as you go $3.75 per session
- 10-visit punch card $33.20
- Unlimited-use passports: 9 weeks $58.75 / 12 weeks $78.25 / 1 year $216.50
Of course, there is also an indoor pool with a full schedule of classes and leisure swim sessions, and there is a social group for older women that meets weekly, Wed. 1-3 pm, from Sep. 28. This group enjoys games, and likes to bring and share food! For more information on all of this, call Keith Storey, Community Recreation Programmer, 416-392-7545 or kstorey@toronto.ca. He is eager to build up the schedule at Annette, for all age groups, and welcomes ideas. (This info as of September 2011.)
Syme 55+ Centre, 33 Pritchard Ave., 416-766-0388 — This centre has an extremely rich program for seniors, including meals and bus trips. When you consider that the #79 bus passes right in front of it and this bus runs frequently, it’s very convenient. (“#79 Scarlett Rd” runs from Bloor up Runnymede past St. Clair and turns left onto Pritchard; avoid #79B, however; see bus schedule online.) Membership is $25 a year.
Swansea Area Seniors Association, 95 Lavinia Ave., 419-392-1953 — An active program, including trips, though perhaps not so conveniently located for Junction residents. Membership is $12 a year.
Loyola Arrupe Centre for Seniors is just a short bus ride down Keele St., at 1709 Bloor St. W., and they have quite a varied calendar of activities, open to anyone 55 and over. Membership is $15 a year (now on sale for $10). For information, call Melissa at 416-766-7977, x. 5.
Librarian Pam Mountain recommends the Tea and Books afternoons at Annette St. Public Library, 145 Annette Street, held on the third Monday of each month, 2-3 pm.
Page last updated: May 8, 2012.