Fairfield Community Center to host open house Thursday

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Community Center will host an open house from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 19.

The open house is part of the Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce’s Business After Hours program. Chamber members and guests are invited to tour the newly remodeled facility and stay for beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks. The building is located at 209 S. Court St. in Fairfield. Residents may know it by its former name, the Fairfield Senior Citizen Center.

Fairfield Community Center board member Ginny Hughes said this is the perfect time for the building to host an open house because it just won a grant to allow it to increase programming starting this summer. Though the board still is working on a calendar of events, Hughes said the board is planning events such as music, educational programs and other live entertainment. The center will host a “bigger and better” bingo with prizes, too.

“It’s all for seniors to bring them back to the center for socialization and meals,” she said.

The Fairfield Community Center hosts weekday lunches for seniors through the Milestones Area Agency on Aging. The meals are free for people aged 60 and older, with a suggested donation of $5 per person, though Milestones never turns anyone away.

Hughes said that the open house is a good way to remind the public that the community center is available to rent, both its upper floor and lower floor. She said it’s the perfect place to hold club gatherings and family reunions. The lower floor has a full kitchen, and the upper floor has a kitchenette with a refrigerator, ice machine, and counter space for crockpots.

During the past year or so, the board members and volunteers renovated the center. Board president Francis Horn is also a contractor, and he gave the board a greatly reduced rate for his services.

“We were able to save quite a bit of money,” Hughes said. “We were very diligent in how we used the donations we received to update the facility.”

Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com