When the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) comes to town for a national event, look for a lot of action in the area. Their Life@50+ National Event & Expo in Boston will be no exception.  On hand to engage and inspire those in attendance will be some of today’s most renowned celebrities including lifestyle, health, sports, travel and financial experts.

Held this time at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, from May 8-10, 2014, attendees will discover real possibilities for their lives through community service activities, innovative exhibits, seminars and an exciting line-up of entertainment. That  speakers scheduled to be at Life@50+ include former first-lady Laura Bush, Jay Leno, Whoopi Goldberg and Dan Marino might be reason enough to attend but the positive focus is on membership plus the benefits and discounts that come with it.

“Life@50+ is a unique opportunity for our members to experience all that AARP has to offer to help them discover the real possibilities in their own lives,” said AARP CEO A. Barry Rand.

Attendees will also be able to volunteer on each of the event’s three days. On the final day, Saturday, May 10th, in conjunction with the National Association of Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive, anyone who brings a bag of non-perishable food will be given a one-day pass to Life@50+, which includes all activities besides the concerts.

“In Boston, we’re encouraging attendees to reimagine what 50+ looks like by arming them with the tools, information and resources they need to build the life they want”

Want to know more about what is in store?  Here’s the full schedule

Thursday, May 8, 2014
AARP will kick off Life@50+ with a Community Day of Service within and around Boston. Beginning bright and early Thursday morning, AARP’s Men’s Life Ambassador and NFL Hall of Fame Quarterback Dan Marino, AARP Community Ambassador and award-winning broadcaster James “JB” Brown, AARP Love and Relationship Ambassador Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and more than 700 Life@50+ attendees will give of their time and effort to various community organizations in the greater Boston area. In the afternoon the grand opening of the Exhibit Hall will take place and three amazing documentaries will be shown as part of Movies for Grownups® Documentary Day: Age of Love, Cyber Seniors and Gen-Silent. Starting on Thursday and continuing throughout the event, AARP TEK (Technology, Education and Knowledge) workshops will provide free technology and social media training for attendees.

Friday, May 9, 2014
To officially open Life@50+, former First Lady Mrs. Laura Bush will be in conversation with her daughter Barbara Pierce Bush, moderated by journalist Soledad O’Brien. New England sports legends Mike Eruzione, Steve Grogan, Bill Russell, and Luis Tiant will take the stage for a panel moderated by James “JB” Brown. The afternoon will also feature a Life Reimagined panel moderated by Soledad O’Brien with singer Linda Ronstadt, as well as Jeff Bauman, and Carlos Arredondo. AARP Financial Ambassador Jean Chatzky will be on hand to share her financial expertise and AARP Love and Relationships Ambassador Dr. Pepper Schwartz, author of Dating After 50 for Dummies, will lead a Lifestyle Session. Entrepreneur, motivational speaker and real-life inspiration for Will Smith’s character in the film The Pursuit of Happyness, Chris Gardner will impart his life lessons in a motivational session. AARP Health Innovation@50+ LivePitch, a showcase of the hottest startups in the “50 and over” health technology market will take place. The AARP Movies for Grownups® Film Festival will roll out the red carpet offering up a stellar lineup, all included in the Life@50+ registration. The film festival runs Friday and Saturday, May 9th and 10th. The evening will close with a dance party featuring The SPINNERS and MARY WILSON of the Supremes (the dance party is an added cost).

Saturday, May 10, 2014
A morning fitness session will start the final day, followed by a feature session with Whoopi Goldberg in conversation with Jay Leno. HGTV’s Kitchen Cousins’ Anthony Carrino and John Colaneri will host a Lifestyle Session. Grammy-award winning producer Emilio Estefan will host “Name That Song,” a game show on finding one’s own rhythm through Life Reimagined and Travel Channel personality Samantha Brown will talk about the new AARP Travel Experience. Captain Richard Phillips, the real-life inspiration for the film Captain Phillips based on his book, will speak at a Life Reimagined Session. To ensure AARP’s Life@50+ event remains a classic, rock legends the Moody Blues will play a concert to close out the event (the concert is an added cost).

 

This is our second time with AARP at a national event.  Last year, we reported live from Atlanta and were kind of shocked at what we saw.  Swearing I was not old enough to join the organization for years, I wondered ‘where are all the old people?’ as I looked around the convention hall floor…then I realized I had become one of ‘the old people’ and guess what?  They’re a really fun bunch of people!

Follow along on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter (#AARPBos14, #AARPTravel) and right here for all the details.