Pagosa Senior Center to rekindle Spanish fiestas

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By Rose Chavez | PREVIEW Columnist

The Pagosa Senior Center invites community members of all ages and backgrounds to rekindle the Spanish fiestas of the past that honor the culture and diversity of the Archuleta and Pagosa Springs community. 

On Friday, May 5, at 2 p.m., community members interested in helping revive and honor the heritage of Pagosa Country with an emphasis on Hispanic and indigenous are asked to meet at the dining hall in the Senior Center located within the Ross Aragon Community Center. We are a group of folks trying to revive a custom that used to celebrate our local heritage and promote scholarship in our local youth. This includes many of Archuleta County’s founding families. 

The group is planning a headliner concert featuring the music of the godson of New Mexico music Al Hurricane Jr. and his band along with local talent featuring Los Mitotitos at the Archuleta County Fairgrounds during the afternoon and evening of July 29. 

During this initial meeting, we will discuss ideas to celebrate Hispanic and Indigenous heritage in conjunction with the musical event planned for this summer. Funds raised during this event will be used to support the intergenerational mission of Archuleta Seniors Inc. (ASI) and a future scholarship fund for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and youth of color) youth of Archuleta County. 

All community members are welcome to attend; snacks will be provided. For more information, contact rosa@psseniors.org.

Remembering When:
senior safety series set

On Mondays, May 1, 8 and 15 at 1:15 p.m., the Pagosa Fire Protection District will host a 45-minute presentation for older adults on fire and fall prevention called Remembering When. 

The presentation will be held at the Community Center. All adults from the area are welcome to attend. Older adults are at high risk of fire and falls. The Remembering When program, developed by the National Fire Protection Association, teaches older adults through trivia, humor and nostalgia how to protect themselves from fires and falls. The focus is on fun, but the safety messages are serious. 

The presentation will include a hands-on smoke alarm demonstration.

Celebrate spring during the Kentucky Derby May 6 

The Senior Center invites the community to our first Kentucky Derby event at the Tennyson Building Event Center, 197 Navajo Trail Drive, on Saturday, May 6, from 3 to 6 p.m. 

This event is a fundraiser for ASI. 

Dress and wear your derby hats and dance to the music of Tim Sullivan. Enjoy appetizers and desserts. We will offer a cash bar with wine, beer and mint juleps. We will be live streaming the Kentucky Derby. Bid on fabulous silent auction items, and have fun to help Pagosa seniors. For more information about the event, contact the Senior Center (970) 264-2167.

Share lunch Monday through Thursday

Join us at the Silver Fox’s Den, aka the Community Cafe, in person for daily hot/cold meals Mondays through Thursdays downtown at the Community Center between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. It is open to all. Pickup is available all week, including Fridays. 

Our dining hall is open to all ages and welcomes you all with kindness and warmth. We provide hot/cold meals for anyone in the community interested in a nutritious and delicious meal. For those 60 or older we request a suggested donation of $10, but no one will be turned away. There is a $10 charge for guests under the age of 60. 

Meals include a main course, side dish, fruit/dessert, garden salad plus beverage. Some popular menu items include Frito chili pie, pork tenderloin with harvest chutney, Singaporean pork ribs, vegetarian lasagna, Hawaiian shrimp with coconut rice and always a beautiful green salad. Many of our items are locally sourced and organic. 

Our chef works with a team of local food professionals to hand-prepare your meal for dine-in service in our cozy dining room (with an amazing view of the San Juans) or for takeout (via our convenient drive-through). Our menu changes daily. 

To reserve your meal for the day, please make your reservation via text or phone call to (970) 264-2167 by 9 a.m. weekdays. 

We provide a welcoming gathering space that serves as a community hub where nutritious food and other resources/supports are available to help older adults and their caretakers stay independent, active, engaged in our community and living in their homes. Weekly educational and social activities include our healthy aging and yoga therapy class, Mahjong and more. 

Check out our senior discount card for local discounts and perks at http://www.psseniors.org/discount-club.html.

Senior Conversations

Join us Wednesdays at 1:15 p.m. for a series of Senior Conversations with local Bill Salmansohn. He will lead the group through mindfulness exercises and discussion of various topics pertaining to aging in Archuleta County. Explore and discover for yourself answers to your questions and concerns. The meeting will be held at the Senior Center in the dining hall; snacks will be provided.

Pagosa Springs
Scrapbooking Club

The Pagosa Springs Scrapbooking Club holds monthly meetings the second Saturday of each month at the Senior Center. 

This creative tradition has been happening since 2005, started by Melissa Bailey, and was continued by Kathy Ruth through the years. The group met in the Senior Center dining room until 2020, took a break due to COVID and then resumed meetings in the Community Center. 

They are truly excited to be meeting in the Senior Center dining area again. 

They will meet each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to be creative, share ideas, connect with friends, learn new techniques, share supplies and indulge in a potluck lunch together. 

Bring your scrapbooking projects — or any crafting project that you may want to work on with the group. If you would like to be added to the mailing list to receive notifications each month of the upcoming meeting along with handy tips and tricks for scrapbooking, please send your request to copenhavercreative@gmail.com.

COVID-19 test
kits available

Stop by the Senior Center to pick up a pack of six free COVID-19 tests kits for your personal use. These kits are available to anyone in the public who needs affordable access for health promotion and disease prevention.

Text reservations

Don’t forget that we also offer a convenient texting service for you to communicate with us. Text us at (970) 264-2167. When texting, please include your name, phone number and the days you want a meal. If you are canceling a reservation, please include your name, phone number and the days you want to cancel. 

Texting services are available for dine-in meal reservations, Grab-n-Go meals and Meals on Wheels recipients.

Mobile food pantry service

The Senior Center would like to remind the community about our mobile food pantry services we provide in partnership with Archuleta County MET to seniors age 60 and older throughout most areas of Archuleta County. 

In order to participate in this program, community members must visit with Barbara Noriega at the Senior Center, located in the Community Center, to fill out an application to qualify for the mobile pantry service. 

The application, called the dining assessment form, is also available on our website at the bottom of the Community Cafe page: http://www.psseniors.org/community-cafeacute.html. For more information, contact us at (970) 264-2167.

Mahjong

Mahjong is a 19th century Chinese tile-based game that is commonly played with four players. Each player receives 13 tiles with a goal to make matching sets and pairs (like poker). To win, a player must form four sets and one pair. Come to the Senior Center to learn or play every Tuesday at 1:15 p.m.

Medicare call by
appointment 

For anyone who needs help enrolling and navigating Medicare plans, the San Juan Basin Area Agency on Aging helps with parts A, B and D. They can also help you with fraud concerns and troubleshooting any billing issues you may be having. This service is available by appointment only. Please call the Medicare line at (970) 264-0501, ext 4. 

Bridge 

The longest-played bridge game in Archuleta County takes place on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:15 p.m. We have eliminated Monday bridge due to lack of consistent participation and will be replacing it with different programming. 

Bridge is a four-player card game with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. It is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. Come alone or bring a partner. 

Hand and foot card game

Whether you are new to hand and foot or interested in learning, please join us most Thursdays at 1:15 at the Senior Center. 

This card game involves four rounds of playing until the final round is reached — some two to three hours later. Plan to stay and meet some new friends or catch up with those you have missed over the last couple of years. 

No experience is necessary, so come willing to learn. 

Engaging pictures

Engaging pictures are needed from seniors and their families who live, work and play their best lives in Archuleta County. We are looking for pictures that convey people’s active lifestyles, families, culture and more. We would like to use these pictures in our grant applications, on social media and on our website. Please email all pictures to rosa@psseniors.org or feel free to drop them off.

Admin volunteers needed 

The Community Cafe at the Senior Center is requesting volunteers to help with our front desk pickup meals and in the office doing administrative tasks. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to volunteer or for more information. 

Board vacancies

The ASI Board of Directors has multiple vacant positions open. 

The terms are three years with an option to renew for an additional term. Potential candidates should be at least 21 years of age or older and must have a passion for adult and aging services.

Community Cafe menu

Thursday, April 27 — Pork tenderloin with orange glaze, Romanesco broccoli, carrots, garden salad, fruit, banana brunch cake and milk.

Friday, April 28 — Chicken Marsala, baked potato, peas and onions, garden salad, fruit, cookies and milk.

Monday, May 1 — Beef spaghetti, cauliflower, garlic knots, garden salad, fruit, cookies and milk.

Tuesday, May 2 — Tuna salad sandwich on whole-wheat bread, cucumber salad, potato salad, garden salad, fruit and milk. 

Wednesday, May 3 — Hawaiian chicken with pineapple and peppers, coconut rice, baked bananas, garden salad and milk.

Thursday, May 4 — Stuffed portabella mushrooms, wilted spinach, broccoli Romanesco, garden salad, fruit and milk.

Friday, May 5 — Barbecue pork ribs, cornbread, baked beans, garden salad, fruit, lemon bars and milk.

Grab-N-Go meals

Grab-N-Go meal reservations and cancellations are required. Please call or text by 9 a.m. the morning of the day you want to pick up a meal. A suggested donation of $10 helps to sustain our program. No one will be turned away for their inability to donate. For ages 59 and younger, the cost is $10 also. Please call or text us at (970) 264-2167 to make a reservation.

Meals on Wheels

We deliver fresh Meals on Wheels five days a week (and provide frozen Meals on Wheels for weekends) to homebound Archuleta County residents. Call or text us at (970) 264-2167.

Requesting donations

ASI has an immediate monetary need to support ongoing operations and programming that provide critical services to some of the most vulnerable in Archuleta County. Please consider donating. 

You may mail your donation to P.O. Box 3444, Pagosa Springs CO 81147 or please visit our website: http://www.psseniors.org/. Donation checks can be written to: Archuleta Seniors Inc. We are located at 451 Hot Springs Blvd. 

For more information about ASI, visit http://www.psseniors.org/.