Festus Senior Expo offers lively morning

More than 600 people turned out for a bustling morning of fun and learning at the Festus Senior Expo on March 22 in the Sacred Heart Parish Annex Building in Crystal City.

The event, sponsored by Leader Publications, featured 36 vendors, speakers and lots of entertainment.

“It was a good day,” Leader publisher Peggy Scott said. “This was a new venue for us, and it was a bit more cozy than previous locations, so we had to be a little creative. We were lucky to get (to use) both the Sacred Heart Parish Annex and the Family Life Center at Immanuel Lutheran Church, right across the street.”

While the two buildings are close to each other, the staff from Autumn Ridge Assisted Living in Herculaneum offered a door-to-door shuttle between the two.

“It was kind of a nice community partnership,” Scott said. “It worked out really well.”

Expo guests enjoyed free doughnuts and coffee, played two sessions of free bingo and danced to live music by J.B. Louis and the Legends, the official Senior Expo band.

“We had bingo players in both locations,” Scott said. “So we simulcast the bingo calling over the PA system. That worked so well we did the same thing for the prize announcements.”

A grand prize winner was drawn at random at the expo – Marsha Barnard of Arnold – but she could not use the prize, so another winner was selected later – JoAnn Kiplinger, 65, of Festus – who received a prize package for two from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. The package includes free tickets to an upcoming performance of her choice, drink vouchers, dessert vouchers, valet parking and a reusable “swag bag” filled with various SLSO merchandise.

“I used to take my mom to the symphony, but I haven’t been in a while,” she said. “I’m excited to go back. It’s such a beautiful building.”

Kiplinger said she plans to go with longtime friend and Festus High School classmate, Debbie Mahew.

“We’re thinking about seeing the Rite of Spring by Stravinsky,” she said. “I’m grateful the prize includes valet parking because some of the lots are closed for construction.”

A second drawing was held for a prize package offered by the St. Louis Art Museum, and the winner was Diana Rooks of Fenton, who received a custom museum bag, a one-year museum membership, books, greeting cards and other materials.

Jennifer Hines from Miracle Ear gave a presentation about home safety and hearing loss, and why a yearly hearing exam is needed. Festus Fire Capt. Jeff Brown and Crystal City Police Sgt. Kyle Boyer collaborated on a “Safety for Seniors” seminar. Festus Public Library director Elizabeth Steffen spoke about programs and services provided by the library.

The Jefferson County Health Department, Pharmax and Medicine Shoppe all offered flu shots and COVID-19 boosters throughout the morning.

The expo closed with the J.B. Louis and the Legends performance, including a rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” with Pastor Kyle Castens of Immanuel Lutheran on vocals.

The Festus event is the first of five senior expos the Leader will sponsor throughout the year in various locations.

The next one, the De Soto Senior Expo, is scheduled for 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 19, at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 13225 Hwy. E.

“We’ll be having something new for that one,” Scott said. “We’re bringing Serengeti Steve, who has a reptile experience that we think people will really enjoy. We’ve had him for other events, but not for a senior expo. It should be fun.”

For more information about upcoming events, call the Leader office at 636-931-7560.