Tarrant County seniors, caregivers, and family members have a free date on the calendar for October 1: the 2026 Empowering Seniors Expo returns to Fort Worth's Will Rogers Memorial Center, with more than 190 exhibitors and a free lunch, health screenings, and door prizes for an expected crowd topping 2,500 attendees.
The event, hosted by Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare and Precinct 3 Commissioner Matt Krause, runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall, located at 3400 Burnett-Tandy Drive, according to the City of Arlington. Admission, parking, lunch, tote bags, and health screenings are all free, and the expo also offers group registration for senior centers and organizations that want to bring residents together. Kannon Health and Walgreens will be on hand to schedule vaccine appointments for attendees, per the same post.
Join @TarrantCountyTX at the 2026 Empowering Seniors Expo on Oct. 1, hosted by Judge Tim O’Hare and Commissioner Matt Krause! Come learn about services that will empower seniors, family members, and caregivers to live a healthier lifestyle!
— City of Arlington (@CityOfArlington) September 9, 2026
Register: https://t.co/OddDGNIC1Z pic.twitter.com/Ew4Dg1ByHO
The venue itself is built for a crowd this size. The Texas Room inside the Amon G. Carter Jr. Exhibits Hall offers more than 94,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, according to the City of Fort Worth, part of a historic 120-acre complex that draws over 2 million visitors a year. That scale matters for an expo now drawing nearly 200 exhibitors and thousands of seniors under one roof.
How Two County Fairs Became One
The expo's current combined format dates back to August 2024, when O'Hare's Senior Synergy Expo merged with Precinct 3's original Empowering Seniors event into a single countywide presentation, according to Northeast News. Senior Synergy itself traces back to 2013, created under then-County Judge Glen Whitley. O'Hare took office as county judge in January 2023, while Krause was elected to the Precinct 3 Commissioner seat in November 2024 and took office that January, following earlier service in the Texas House of Representatives.
Organizers are also recruiting help to pull off the day: the expo currently counts more than 100 volunteers and is still seeking more, alongside sponsors and exhibitors, according to the same X post from the City of Arlington. Attendees and groups can register in advance, and questions can be directed to organizers at 817-248-6295 or by email at [email protected].
Why the Fair Matters for a Growing Senior Population
The stakes behind the expo go beyond a single morning of screenings and swag bags. Residents 65 and older make up roughly 13.9% of Tarrant County's estimated 2.25 million residents, translating to more than 310,000 older adults in Texas's third-most-populous county, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That population is leaning on county and nonprofit resources amid rising costs: a 2026 UMass Boston Gerontology Institute study found that a single senior renting independently in Tarrant County needs roughly $32,000 a year for basic living expenses, a gap of more than $10,000 above standard Social Security payments, as reported by The Dallas Morning News.
Year-round support is also part of the picture. The Area Agency on Aging of Tarrant County, operated through the United Way of Tarrant County, offers free programs including Medicare benefits counseling, family caregiver assistance, long-term care ombudsman services, and home modification grants — and it's the only Area Agency on Aging in Texas housed inside a United Way chapter. Tarrant County Public Health, meanwhile, partners with the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County to offer low-cost adult immunizations at $15 per shot for uninsured residents, with no appointment or insurance required at walk-in clinics, according to the City of Arlington.
Fraud Protection Takes on New Urgency
Financial exploitation has become a particular focus for local officials protecting older residents. The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney's Office runs a specialized Elder Financial Fraud division that works with the Financial Exploitation Prevention Center of Tarrant County to investigate and prosecute abuse against seniors, since financial exploitation is documented as the most common form of elder abuse in the county.
That work carries fresh weight this month. In September 2026, law enforcement arrested a central figure accused of running a $250 million nationwide senior fraud ring that targeted older adults in Tarrant County and laundered stolen funds into gold, cryptocurrencies, and shell companies, according to CBS News Texas. The multi-agency investigation involved more than 200 victims nationwide, underscoring why consumer protection resources remain a fixture at events like the Empowering Seniors Expo.
Getting to the fairgrounds is also part of the equation for seniors without a car. Trinity Metro offers reduced $1 fares for riders 65 and older on its On-Demand microtransit service, along with door-to-door ACCESS paratransit across Tarrant County, though ACCESS requires advance application and eligibility certification. With registration open and volunteers still needed, organizers are positioning the October 1 expo as a single stop where seniors and caregivers can find health screenings, legal safeguards, and support services all under one roof.
