Town & Gown Workshops

The Town and Gown Workshop Series has created a following of older adult participants, showcasing such topics as art, health, and gardening in the Athens community. Indeed the collaboration between the program hosts, the UGA Institute of Gerontology and the Athens Community Council on Aging, bridges the academic community at UGA with the outreach services of the ACCA to bring the older adult community in Athens fascinating discussions and presentations.

Our goal is to survey current topics in gerontology utilizing local expertise in Athens. Past seasons featured dance as purposeful exercise; gardening for life; an updated "Beaux Arts" matinee, and a showcase of community support and enrichment programs in the Athens area. The rationale for choosing each of these topics were very specific: Active for Life II was proposed to exhibit methods of dancing as exercise for older adults; Gardening for Life was developed to provide a venue for older adult gardeners to come together and receive information about planting, cultivating, propagating, and water features; and the Community Programs workshop offered a review of all aging services in the Athens area.