Fair donates space for Council on Aging classes, events
Cara Spilsbury
TOPSFIELD | The beekeeping building at the Topsfield Fairgrounds is usually only abuzz with activity for 11 days out of the year, when the annual fair brings eager honey-lovers through its 163-year-old doors.
But starting this week, the facility will be bustling with a different colony of busy bees. The over-60 crowd in Topsfield will now be line dancing, exercising and playing cribbage and bingo there, as the building will serve as the Council on Aging's new semi-permanent home.
The Topsfield Fair donated the space to the COA, who had previously been a transient entity around town.
"We wanted to be a good neighbor," said the fair's general manager, Jim O'Brien. "When we found out there was a need, we wanted to step up to that need. Anytime we can work with the town we do. Topsfield is a great place, and we want to do whatever we can."
Before the announcement on Monday, April 23, the council had been shuffling programs around through Town Hall, the library, Littlebrook Village, Washington Meadow, the Gould Barn, and St. Rose's Church. Without a stable place to call their own, the COA felt too transient, according to COA Executive Director Sheila Field.
"By allowing me to have space, I can give better service," Field said.
Now, Field and her team will be able to provide programs that the town's seniors have been requesting for years. They'll also be able to store supplies for coffee hours, luncheons and other events, meaning COA workers will no longer have to lug heavy equipment to different venues.
"That was kind of the ice cream on top of the apple pie for me," Field said of the storage space.
The most popular offering that the seniors have asked for is line dancing, which will work perfectly in the building's spacious hall. The COA had previously attempted line dancing at the Gould Barn, but the floors proved too uneven. But the floors in the beekeeping building are hardwood and as even as can be | perfect for lively footwork.
"They told me to make sure it was a place where they could run around in your heels," Field joked about the senior women she works with.
The beekeeping building also offers a kitchenette for cooking and cleaning, 125 possible seats in its meeting hall, a shaded outdoor patio, and all the bee-themed decor you could ever dream of. Field also noted that, although it was flirting with 80 degrees outside that afternooon, the inside of the beekeeping building was nice and cool | a necessity for seniors in the sweltering summer months.
"It is important that it's temperature controlled," Field said.
Town Administrator Virginia Wilder made it clear that, although the donated space is greatly appreciated and perfect for the COA's growing needs, it isn't the completion of their search for a permanent home.
"This is just a stop-gap," she explained. "We're still looking at grants and programs we can use to give the council a permanent home in a town facility. This is great. It works. But it's not the end."
COA wish list
With the new space, the council will have new needs to fill. COA Executive Director Sheila Field has put together a wish list of supplies and has put out a call for volunteers in the hopes that COA activities will flourish under the roof of the beekeeping building.
"We always say yes to any contributions," she said.
Some items they need are:
Two Scrabble Deluxe board games (preferably with turn table)
Two cribbage boards with pegs
Five unopened decks of cards
Various types of board games, in excellent condition
Plastic utensils and plates, napkins, paper towel rolls, packaged disinfectant wipes
The bee keeping building on the Topsfield Fairgrounds has been granted for use to the Topsfield Council on Aging. COA Director Shiela Field sets up chairs at the new facility.Heather Mancini/Staff Photo(Click for larger image)
