Hickory – Seniors Morning Out participants will enjoy a variety of activities in October, including a large bingo event and craft classes.

Any resident of Catawba County who is 60 or older is invited to join Seniors Morning Out, which is held between 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday at five convenient locations. A hot, balanced lunch is served each day. Programs are free to participants, who may pick and choose which days to attend. Bus transportation to and from the sites is available in some locations.

On October 29th, seniors 60 years or older are invited to attend a large Halloween bingo event, at First United Methodist Church of Hickory (311 3rd Ave NE, Hickory, NC 28601) from 9:30am-12:00noon. Registration is required by calling 828-695-5610 by October 22nd. Lunch will be provided at no cost. Bingo cards can be purchased for $1 per card with a two card max per person with lots of prizes to be won.

Other program highlights are as follows:

At the Newton site, located at First Presbyterian Church, 701 N Main Ave, Newton: Oct 2, Flu Vaccines by CVS Newton; Oct 7, Lung Education for Healthy Lung Month; Oct 8, Cooking Class- Angel Food Cake; Oct 10, Drumstick Fitness with Erin Thompson; Oct 14, Bowling at Pin Station; Oct 15, Pottery with Denise Lehman; Oct 28, Craft Class- Cute Plaid Pumpkins; Oct 30, Benefits of Massage Therapy and Chair Massages by Walter Garcia, LMBT. If you would like to participate in any of these activities, contact Jennifer Garcia at 828-455-4133 at least two days in advance.

At the West Hickory site, located at the West Hickory Senior Center, 400 17th St SW, Hickory: Oct 3, Jessica Stewart to sing Country Songs; Oct 8, Chair Exercise with Erin Thompson; Oct 9, Music by Bob Sinclair and Molly Barrett; Oct 14, Flu Shot Clinic; Oct 15, National Breast Cancer Awareness with Carolyn Thompson, RN; Oct 21, Halloween Crafts; Oct 24, Trip to Taylorsville; Oct 30, Cooking Class- Creepy Crawly Creations. If you would like to participate in any of these activities, contact Sam Garlock at 828-323-8746 at least two days in advance.

At the East Hickory site, located at First United Methodist Church, 311 3rd Ave NE, Hickory, NC 28601: Oct 2, National Dream Car Day- Draw and Name Your Dream Car; Oct 3, Singing and Dancing with Sentimental Journey; Oct 14, Holiday Trivia with Tamara Faulkner; Oct 16, Cooking Class- Easy Veggie Dip and Cauliflower; Oct 17, Invigorating Chair Exercise with Erin Thompson; Oct 22, Breast Cancer Awareness; Oct 23, Bingo at Atlanta Bread; Oct 29, Large Halloween Bingo Event. If you would like to participate in any of these activities, contact Rita Pritchard at least two days in advance by calling 828-320-5963.

At the Catawba site, located at Center United Methodist Church, 4945 Sherrills Ford Rd, Catawba: Oct 2, Fire Safety with David Pruitt; Oct 3, How to Keep Your Liver Healthy with Caitlyn Droste, Oct 8, Craft Class- Plastic Ball Ornaments with Sharon Treadway; Oct 10, Elvis Tribute with Ed Smith; Oct 16, Crisis Prevention: Keeping Your Cool Under Pressure with Jeff Dula, Vaya Health; Oct 17, Cooking Class- Spinach Dip; Oct 22, Fall Festival; Oct 23, Music by Bob Sinclair or Molly Barrett. If you would like to participate in any of these activities, contact Wendy Thomas at 828-320-0434 at least two days in advance.

At the Maiden site, located at the Maiden Community Center, 207 E Klutz St, Maiden: Oct 1, Depression: From Surviving to Thriving with Jeff Dula, Vaya Health; Oct 7, Cooking Class- Candy Corn Fruit Parfait; Oct 9, Liver Health and Disease Prevention with Caitlyn Droste; Oct 15, Travel to India with Ken Duke; Oct 16, Craft Class- Spooky Spiders; Oct 22, Pottery with Denise Lehman; Oct 24, Trip to Taylorsville; Oct 30, Apple Trivia and Caramel Apple Bar for National Caramel Apple Day. If you would like to attend any of these programs, please call Lisa Adams at 828-320-5966 at least two days in advance.

Seniors Morning Out is operated by Senior Nutrition Services of Catawba County Social Services and is in need of volunteers to assist with the program between 8:00am and noon, Monday – Thursday. Please call 828-695-5617, if interested. In addition to SMO, Senior Nutrition Services operates Meals on Wheels and related programs in the county. Additional volunteers are urgently needed to deliver Meals on Wheels. You can volunteer as little as one and a half hours a month. To find out more, contact Senior Nutrition Services at 828-695-5610 during regular business hours, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, except for holidays. For the latest updates, like their Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/MealsonWheelsofCatawbaCounty, or visit their website at http://www.MealsonWheelsofCatawbaCounty.org.

Catawba County Senior Nutrition Services is a United Way funded partner. Catawba County United Way’s mission is to increase the organized capacity of people to help others by mobilizing the caring power of our community. For more info., 828-327-6851 or www.ccunitedway.com