On Tuesdays, Thursdays and now, Wednesdays, a group of friends meet up at the Mercer Island Community and Event Center for chitchat over coffee, a bit of gaming and exercising and a lot of joking and laughing.

At least, it seems like a regular gathering of old pals. It’s really a social program run by the city of Mercer Island’s Parks and Recreation Department for senior adults with physical, memory, hearing or visual limitations.

Senior Social is a “one of a kind program in our area,” said Diane Mortensen, the city’s recreation superintendent.

The fun, caring and active program was started in 1994 and designed to provide a safe place for seniors to socialize with friendly, sensitive staff and volunteers while providing respite for their caregivers.

Program Director Leslie Sylvetsky plans physical and mentally stimulating activities, including music, art and crafts, games, exercise, guest speakers and education. It’s a “wonderful setting and a great group,” said Marti Lammers, one of the participants, at the Aug. 23 meeting.

Senior Social runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and usually starts off with a snack and discussion of current events. Arne Carson noted holidays, from National Plumbers Day on Aug. 23 and the Long Beach Kite Festival Aug. 15-21 to the historic 100th anniversary of the National Park Service on Aug. 25.

Sylvetsky planned activities around these discussions, organizing a “plumbers game” where two teams — the Carpenters and the Plungers — competed to toss metal washers and bean bags into a Cornhole-style board. She also had a professional plumber come talk to the group after lunch, and said the group was planning to fly kites later in the day.

The group members grew up all over the country, from New York and New Orleans to Ballard and Port Townsend. Their former professions range from psychologist and opera singer to teacher, Metro bus driver and servicemen in the U.S. Air Force and Coast Guard.

They provide each other with “a lot of support” and “a little teasing,” they said.

Before lunch, the group played a game of Family Feud and had an exercise class led by Susie Rosenstein, a trainer at the Stroum Jewish Community Center.

“The curriculum provides a well-rounded program with a variety of different activities in a structured setting, which is important to the well-being of the participants,” Mortenson said.

The volunteers also participate in the activities, including the ones who have been with the program the longest — Chris and Edna Berger, who have lived in Mercer Island for 65 years.

Sylvetsky, who has been with the program for six years and has lived in Mercer Island for 25, said that she enjoys working with the seniors, though her background is in social work and reflexology.

Sylvetsky said that the Slater Room in the Community Center works well for them, and that it was designed with groups like theirs in mind, with its efficiency kitchen, large windows and welcoming layout.

“Something about this room is warm and comforting,” Sylvetsky said.

The program was recently expanded to three days a week instead of just two, due to a $5,000 grant from the Senior Foundation of Mercer Island, and is seeking more participants and volunteers for the Wednesday group.

For more, contact the Parks and Recreation Department at 206-275-7609.