CASSOPOLIS — In today’s world, staying connected to technology is more critical than ever. Because of this, one local organization will host an event next month to ensure that Cass County’s senior population does not get left behind in the ever-changing tech landscape.

The Cass County Council on Aging will host a tech fair from 10 a.m. to noon at its Cassopolis location, 60525 Decatur Road. The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.

The event, which will be partnering with the Benton Harbor Best Buy and Geek Squad, will allow area seniors to get hands-on learning about computers and the latest technology from local experts. Additionally, attendees are encouraged to bring their personal phones, tablets and laptops to the event to ask the onsite professionals any questions they may have about their devices.

The event will be broken down into the four stations: computers and tablets, smart home, home entertainment and phones.

“There is going to be hands-on help to help [seniors] with their gadgets,” said Leslie Vargo, the lifelong learning coordinator at the COA.

Vargo said the opportunity to host the tech fair came up as Best Buy has been looking to become more involved in the community and the COA has been looking for ways to help area seniors keep up with changing technology.

She added that there is already a demand for technical assistance for the county’s senior population, as the COA sees several patrons a week asking for help navigating their devices.

“Technology is so important, and it is easy to get overwhelmed by it,” Vargo said. “Technology is how [seniors] stay connected to their families and the world today. … Home entertainment has also really changed. You can’t just turn on the TV like you used to. We want to keep people updated on these things.”

As technology is constantly changing, she said that if the tech fair is successful on March 7, the COA will look into hosting the event again next year.

“There is always new technology, and we always new clientele,” she said. “It’s definitely a possibility that we would do this again to keep people up to date.”

Vargo said she would encourage area seniors to attend the tech fair next month, saying that not only will they be able to have their questions about technology answered, but they will have a good time as well.

‘It’s a great social event to chat with the experts and meet with people in your neighborhood,” she said. “Plus you are going to learn something.”