Camping, Cocktails, Culture, Concerts: Oak Trace Residents Are Redefining What Retirement Looks Like

Camping under the stars. A trolley bar hop. Rolling Stones Week. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra. A trip to Holland, Michigan.

It sounds like a travel itinerary.

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It's actually one month of life at Oak Trace senior living community in Downers Grove, where an active retirement lifestyle includes hundreds of opportunities for residents to travel, learn, socialize, volunteer, celebrate, and explore new experiences throughout the year.

Active Senior Living That Challenges Expectations

While outdated stereotypes often portray retirement as a time to slow down, today's older adults are seeking something entirely different. They want experiences. They want connection. They want opportunities to keep learning, exploring, and trying new things.

Oak Trace is a Life Plan Community, also known as a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC), offering independent living designed around choice, wellness, and lifelong engagement. Residents enjoy the freedom to embrace an active lifestyle today, with the confidence that a full continuum of care is available should their needs ever change. Those opportunities fill the calendar every day of the year.

From cultural celebrations and educational programs to concerts, travel, outdoor adventures, and social gatherings, residents choose from hundreds of experiences designed to enrich every dimension of well-being. Best of all, transportation, planning, reservations, and logistics are handled by the community, allowing residents to simply enjoy the experience.

A Night On the Town

One recent favorite was Oak Trace's July Ashore Excursion; a Trolley Bar Hop through downtown Downers Grove.

Residents climbed aboard the Naperville Trolley wearing themed shirts before visiting Alter Brewing and several popular downtown establishments. The evening combined great food, local businesses, lively conversation, and plenty of laughter while giving residents another opportunity to experience the surrounding community together.

Residents living in the Health Center enjoyed their own version of the celebration as campus spaces were transformed into a neighborhood style lounge complete with drink stations and festive décor, ensuring everyone could share in the fun.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Earlier this summer, Oak Trace turned up the volume with Rolling Stones Week.

The celebration opened with acclaimed music historian Gary Wenstrup presenting the fascinating story behind one of rock music's most influential bands. Residents later gathered for a live performance by the Hot Rocks Rolling Stones Tribute Band, enjoyed a Satisfaction Sundae Bar, and tested their musical knowledge during Rolling Stones trivia.

Experiences With Purpose

This summer, residents also pitched tents during an overnight camping experience, sponsored a classic car show, celebrated cultural traditions like Diwali, explored destinations throughout the Midwest, and enjoyed performances by world renowned artists. Every experience is designed to encourage curiosity, build friendships, and demonstrate that retirement can be a time of continued growth rather than slowing down.

"People often assume retirement means doing less," said Jessica Lazzara Cashman, Lifestyle Director. "What we see every day is just the opposite. Residents are looking for opportunities to discover new interests, revisit old passions, make new friends, and enjoy experiences they may never have had time for during their working years. Our goal is to make every day an opportunity to say 'yes' to something exciting."

Redefining Retirement

The result is a lifestyle that looks far different from what many people imagine when they think about senior living.

With hundreds of resident experiences offered each year, Oak Trace is redefining what it means to retire by replacing outdated stereotypes with a lifestyle built around adventure, lifelong learning, wellness, friendship and purpose.

At Oak Trace, retirement is not defined by age.

It is defined by possibility.

Oak Trace Senior Living

Oak Trace senior living community in Downers Grove, Illinois, is set on more than 40 acres of meticulously landscaped grounds featuring gardens, walking paths, ponds and abundant green space. As a Life Plan Community, formerly known as a CCRC, Oak Trace offers a full continuum of care: including independent living, assisted living, memory care, rehabilitation and skilled nursing. Oak Trace is owned by Lifespace, a not-for-profit organization with nearly 50 years of experience in senior living. To learn more about Oak Trace, visit www.OakTraceSeniorLiving.com.