October 1996 was the European Month of Older People. To mark this we took up the challenge to organise an ‘Age Takes Centre Stage’ Festival for people over 50 in our area. North Tyneside Council’s Older People’s Policy Committee already had contacts with older people’s groups in the area and invited them to join in. Having a festival to celebrate older age, to create a positive image, to encourage older people to get active, go out, try new things, make new friends and enjoy life – that sounded like a really good idea – and we think it still is.

The first festival was a great success! Bringing together all the groups working with older people in the borough to celebrate age was a very positive experience. Having done it once, everyone wanted to do it again and now we are busy organising the tenth festival in October 2005. More groups have signed up over the years to host their own events, and some have joined the Planning Group as well.

Lily Roberts had her 80^th birthday on the opening day of the very first Age Takes Centre Stage Festival. She is a great example of someone enjoying her age and making a valuable contribution to community life in our area – and that year she was the ‘face of Age Takes Centre Stage’ with a place of honour at the launch event.

Lily joined in the tree planting event at the Rising Sun Country Park that first year. As we celebrate the tenth festival the trees we planted in 1996 are now a beautiful woodland – they and the festival are thriving. Lily still runs the Collingwood Over 60s club, and her group always look forward to Age Takes Centre Stage.

The free film at the Whitley Bay Playhouse has been an essential feature of the Festival from the very first day. The length of the queue on the day tickets become available is well known – and the packed show is a great occasion with a wonderful atmosphere. It starts a month long season at the Playhouse of special films and shows presented with people over 50 in mind.

In 1999 we wanted to do something special to mark the United Nations Year of Older Persons and our fourth festival. We introduced the Age Takes Centre Stage Awards to celebrate the achievements of individuals over 50 and groups whose members are mostly over 50. DFDS Seaways agreed to sponsor the awards from the start by hosting the Award Ceremony on board their luxurious cruise ship while it is docked at Royal Quays. It is a very moving ceremony as everyone hears about the wonderful work that older people do in the community. The Captain of the ship presents the special Awards for the Group and Individual winners and a certificate to each group and individual nominated in recognition of their achievements. The Longbenton Young at Heart Group won the Group Award in 2002 for the food co-op they ran that year. Vi Colquhoun says "We have our Award up on the wall in our Community Centre where everyone can see it, it was a lovely occasion and we felt very proud of what we had done"

We launched the Millennium festival with a very special ecumenical Church Service lit by the Millennium Flame – a sign of peace, hope, friendship and unity. Appropriately, John Middleton, the ‘Vicar of Emmerdale’, opened the festival that year, the Lord Lieutenant, church and civic dignitaries came. Christ Church was crammed with people celebrating older age with us. Gillian Ford from Churches Working Together remembers "We’ve never made so many sandwiches in our lives – but it was well worth it!"

"It’s the variety of events that makes the festival so popular – and the enthusiasm of so many local groups and organisations to put something on to celebrate older age." Robin Berks – ARP/050

Social events go down extremely well. Live at Home’s annual concert is always crowded. "We get twice as many people coming than to our usual events" explains Val Liddell "It’s really important to us to take part in this borough-wide celebration of older people". It could be a concert or a quiz, a coffee morning or a cabaret, there are plenty of reasons to party!

Conferences are an important part of the Festival and vary widely in their content. They have brought older people together to

Dancing is always popular. In the first few years it was mainly sequence and ballroom dancing - 200 people came to the big dances at the Rex and Park Hotel with live music. Our Halloween Tea Dance is still the popular festival finale, and dressing up for it is all part of the fun. People also enjoy other types of dancing now - line dancing and barn dancing are great fun and a recent belly-dancing taster session was so successful it had to be run twice.

We offer new activities at every festival to encourage older people to broaden their horizons. We have had taster sessions in computing, swimming, pottery, digital photography, croquet, wind surfing, and tai chi, to name a few. If events go well they may become a regular activity, and existing groups find hosting a festival event is a useful way to attract new members. The Wallsend Line Dance has become a weekly Age Concern activity after a special Age Takes Centre Stage Line Dance attracted so many new and enthusiastic people. "Our festival events generated ideas and contacts we will develop in our work throughout the year" explains Jan Wilkinson, North Tyneside Disability Forum Older People’s Project.

Talks, walks, visits and films about local history have great appeal. Eric Hollerton, the Local Studies Librarian, seems to have talked in and about most corners of the Borough during the festivals. Older people have plenty to contribute as well – reminiscence events have provided opportunities to gather and exchange stories, as well as to make and renew friendships.

Outings and Open Days have been well attended both near and far – whether it’s the five coachloads that visited Emmerdale, or the 1000+ visitors to the Steam Days at the Stephenson Museum; the open day at the Fire Station, or special entry to Segedunum or Wet & Wild. Walks are popular too – local walks for health, Halloween mystery adventures or longer treks in Northumberland. The opportunity to go out in good company is one of the favourite festival features – in the feedback cards we are always asked for more.

Reaching our tenth festival has been a great success in itself. We are proud of Age Takes Centre Stage’s achievements including: