The Nassau County Council on Aging (NCCOA) offers free meals, exercise classes and social programs at its Janice Ancrum Senior Life Center in Fernandina Beach. The center at 1901 Island Walk Way serves adults 60 and older with a daily lunch at 11:30 a.m. and a packed calendar of activities.

The center's October schedule lists bingo, live music, exercise sessions, sign language lessons and a Halloween dance party on Oct. 29. Transportation is available for seniors who need a ride, according to the Nassau County Record.

One of the center's longest-running draws is line dancing, taught by Kathy Ball of Fernandina Beach. Ball, a certified instructor and member of the National Dance Teachers Association, started volunteering at NCCOA in 2016. She now has about 100 active students and has taught more than 500 songs over the past decade, according to the organization's Q4 2026 Senior Life Magazine.

Ball said in the magazine that she chose line dancing after watching women sit out couples dances because no one asked them. "Line dancing is one of those things where you don't need a partner," she said. "Everyone can dance."

Ball, who moved to Fernandina Beach with her husband Sid in 1993, teaches basic and intermediate sessions on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. She introduces a new song every four weeks, and students vote on whether to keep it.

The center also draws outside partners. The Jacksonville Dance Theatre and the Amelia Island Dance Festival brought chair dancing to seniors at the center, according to the Nassau County Record. The festival, which held its 2026 edition in September, runs year-round outreach programs that bring professional dance education into community spaces across Nassau County, according to the festival's website.

Beyond dance, the center hosts art therapy with instructor Leeanne Saylors every Friday from 2 to 4:30 p.m. Ruta Ozolins, an NCCOA member who moved to Florida from Bloomington, Indiana, wrote in the Senior Life Magazine that the class helped her overcome isolation. She described how fellow students listened and shared their own experiences, and said that after a few sessions she found herself cured of loneliness.

NCCOA is the lead agency for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs' state and federally funded grant programs, according to the magazine. Its services include Meals on Wheels, fall prevention, the CHORE small home repair program and caregiver respite through its Adult Day HealthCare program known as "The Club."

An annual membership covers unlimited classes at the center, according to the NCCOA website. A pay-per-class option is also available. Free social and fitness events marked "FREE" in the catalog are open to everyone.

The organization faces a funding question. Nassau County commissioners approved a tentative fiscal year 2026-27 budget in September that eliminated all county funding for nonprofits, as Nassau News Line first reported. NCCOA President and CEO Janice Ancrum told commissioners at the Sept. 14 hearing that the organization uses county dollars to feed, bathe and help seniors and provide caregiver support, according to Nassau News Line's report. Whether funding was restored at the final budget hearing, scheduled for Sept. 28, is not reflected in available records.

Residents can reach the Janice Ancrum Senior Life Center at 904-261-0701. Volunteer opportunities are available in seven areas, including Meals on Wheels delivery, The Club and the CHORE program.

Upcoming at the center in October:

  • Oct. 29: History of Halloween presentation at 9 a.m., followed by a Halloween dance party at 10 a.m.
  • Oct. 30: SHINE Medicare presentation at 9 a.m., bingo with Ron Turner at 10 a.m.