It was a bustling afternoon at the Lehighton Recreation Center Friday, where local organizations and health care providers gathered for a Senior Health and Information Fair.

Carbon County Area Agency on Aging and PA Link to Aging and Disability Resources sponsored the event. Julie Rovinski-Mann, Link coordinator, estimated that the fair, which was held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., attracted around 200 people.

“Oftentimes it’s hard for people with disabilities and seniors to get out and kind of find what is the right fit for them,” Rovinski-Mann said. “That’s why we do this.”

“It’s a one-stop shop where they can come here and they can talk to all the different places that can help them with whatever they need,” she said.

More than 40 information vendors were represented, from health care networks like St. Luke’s to social service providers such as Shepherd House Food Pantries and the Domestic Violence Service Center.

Brochure-covered booths stood side-by-side, lining the perimeter of the center’s gym.

Rachael Kapes Timm, marketing director at a senior living community called Heritage Hill said that the information fair was a “great way to get the word out about their (Heritage Hill’s) community to seniors from the Carbon County area.”

The fair was free to all attendees, who were also given a raffle ticket upon entry. More than 30 gift cards to local retailers were chanced off.

With each stop at a table, 64-year-old Terri Sheckler added another bag, brochure or piece of information under her arm. As a retiree, Sheckler said, her income is fixed, and money is “a big deal now,” so the fair is an important opportunity for her to plan ahead.

“You go to your doctor, and he’s like, ‘Well, you know, you could do this, or go talk to this person.’ Where here, you just come and you see everybody,” Sheckler said.

“It’s helpful for older people, because they don’t know where to go,” she added.