A brace of ground-breaking events celebrating life at 50 and beyond in Cumbria, get underway on Thursday (21 June).
Older people from across the county are expected at Barrow's Forum 28 and the Civic Hall in Whitehaven for a day-long celebration of everything that is great about growing old.
Celebratory speakers, cooking demonstrations and live jazz music are just a few of the highlights laid on by event organisers Cumbria County Council and Age Concern.
Visitors to the free events will also see special 'Champions Awards' presented to older Cumbrians whose zest for a full and active life serves as an inspiration to others.
Cumbria's population is getting steadily older with almost four in ten residents expected to be aged 60 years and older by 2029.
The events have been designed to help older people celebrate their achievements and skills, inspire others to keep active and dispel the 'one foot in the grave' image of growing old with the emphasis on what older people can do rather than what they cannot.
Guest speakers include David Halpin and Mervyn Eastman - leading figures in the nationally renowned Better Government for Older People movement of organisations which works to change attitudes and services to achieve an improved society for older people across Britain.
Both venues will also see the unveiling of Age Concern's 'celebrating age' photography winners. The charity has been asking people to submit their best photographs of older people volunteering, following a hobby or keeping active.
Councillor Oliver Pearson, cabinet member responsible for Adult Social Care and Health at Cumbria County Council, said: "We need a quite profound cultural change - in the way we think about older people.
"Rather than seeing older people as a burden, we need to see them as contributors. To prepare for the massive demographic change that is coming, we need to challenge our assumptions and change our behaviour - on every level. Understanding that older people are active and forward-looking participants in society is a key aim of these events."
Mary Bradley, chief officer for Age Concern, said: "The general perception about growing older is often negative. Large parts of society still hold the misconception that people fall into abject helplessness when they reach pensionable age.
"The truth is of course completely different with older people leading very varied lives. One only has to look at the example of people running marathons in their 80s or the Rolling Stones doing a world tour in their 60s to see that getting older is not an automatic bar to leading a full and active life."
For more information on the events taking place in Barrow and Whitehaven on 21 June, people can contact Age Concern Barrow on 01229-831425 or Northwest Cumbria Age Concern on 01946-66669.
ENDS
Media enquiries to Mark Graham, Media Officer on 01228-606337