Philadelphia Corporation for Aging holds 11th Annual Senior Strut along Boathouse Row
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Every fall, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging holds an event to get older adults moving and grooving along Kelly Drive.
This is the 11th year for PCA's Senior Strut, and it's presented by PA Health & Wellness.
Paid Sponsor Partnership: Philadelphia Corporation for Aging
Najja Orr, President & CEO of PCA, calls it "a day of fun and health and wellness."
It's a one-mile walk along Boathouse Row, led by the Mummers.
"They love strutting with the Mummers," says Amanda Buonomo, Special Events Manager for PCA. "And it's a lot of fun."
Strutters come from all over the city. Kojy Hollingshed is from South Philadelphia, Elaine Brown is from Northern Liberties and Priscilla Durham came from North Philly to walk.
And they each have different reasons for participating.
"I love to walk," says Brown. "Just the nature and just being free."
"I came out today to see if I could do a walk," says Durham. "I've got my cane, because I've been having a lot of mobility problems and issues."
Durham came with high school friend, Elizabeth Bishop, who's been on a weight loss journey.
"I was diabetic, and I wanted to get off all that diabetic medicine," says Bishop. "I've lost 130 pounds - a whole person."
She says she regularly does a lot of walking through her neighborhood. The two are members of the Martin Luther King Older Adult Center.
"We have 28 senior centers across the city, and they come out and have so much fun," says Orr.
There was a DJ on site to help get the walkers ready to strut their stuff.
"They call me the dancing machine," says Brown who showed off some moves.
"A part of our mission is really just to do our part to make sure that we keep people engaged and connected to the community, and that includes health and wellness events," says Orr.
In addition to the walk, lunch was provided at the Cosmic Café and exhibitors filled Lloyd Hall.
"We have about 32 health vendors. They can get all kinds of great information," says Buonomo. "And we have a table full of all kinds of information about our PCA services."
There were 450 people at the event, and everyone finished feeling like a winner.
"I did it!" says Durham.
Hollingshed called the event "exhilarating," while Shirley Upshur, another participant, called it "excellent."
Upshur added that although they're seniors, "there are things that we can do to revitalize our life."
"We're happy - yay!" cheered Hollingshed.
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