Not just for the retired

Maybe it's the Patriots' cheerleaders, with their bare midriffs and glittery pom-poms. Or the celebrity appearances. Bill Russell, the basketball legend, is giving a talk. So are the Douglasses. Michael and Kirk. Tony Bennett's putting on a show headlined "The Best is Yet to Come."

There's a reason that some 25,000 people registered for the annual AARP convention, held this year in Boston. In the cavernous Convention & Exhibition Center, crowds of people washed through aisle after aisle of exhibits and product demonstrations, or rode electric carts. The Nintendo demonstration was definitely cool, and the carnival-voiced pitchman extolling the video game's ability to keep mind and body healthy has drawn a sizable crowd, but was that the big draw?

"Rod Stewart is here," said Kathy Squadrito, 56, of Haddonfield, N.J., who was wearing a giant Red Sox hat made out of balloons. "What else do you need?"

Whatever the motivation, every year more people are coming to the conventions - from 5,784 in 2000 to an estimated 25,000 this year - as the AARP tries to appeal to the Baby Boomer generation with a hip image that is less, well, old. The organization in 1999 changed its official name from the American Association of Retired Persons to AARP, in part to avoid the word "retired," and their annual convention is called Life@50+.

The strategy appears to be working. The average age of conference attendees dropped from 72 in 2001 to 62 this year, a fact that is reflected in the convention's schedule of events. This year, there are dance parties lasting until 2 a.m., and a film festival called "Movies for Grownups." Beauty specialist Bobbi Brown today is offering makeup advice and rapper LL Cool J (who is 39) is leading a morning fitness class. Tomorrow, the 80s king of Spandex, Richard Simmons, 59, is leading the workout.

There remained plenty of old-school material, however. Booths offered age creams and salves, along with almost every other imaginable cure for the passing of years. There was also bingo.

Every few minutes on the convention hall floor, six-passenger carts passed by at 5 miles per hour. Traffic jams with electric wheelchairs were frequent, and the food court crowd was transfixed by a television broadcast of the weather in the Midwest. Free massages were offered in one corner.

At one booth, a company called Bibs for All Seasons offered the elderly stylish bibs decorated with American flags, poker chips, and floral designs.

For some, there was a kind of comfort in that.

"It makes me feel young, looking at all the old people," said Barbara Harrington, a 55-year-old Boston resident who was excited to see Bob Newhart today.

Representing one of the largest, most affluent and politically active demographics in the country, convention-goers were awash in sales pitches of all kinds. Booths promoted the virtues of anything from pears to beer. Presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Mike Huckabee are scheduled to address the convention today.

"I got a back-scratcher," said 76-year-old Beverly Biziewski. "It's advertising for Enterprise (Rent-A-Car), isn't that weird? It's a great come-on, though."

She was standing near the health section, where panels detail ways to prevent disease. It includes a giant inflated colon, which visitors can walk through and gather information in graphic detail about what different cancers of the colon look like.

"I ain't old, man," said Willie French, 64, in a straw hat and sunglasses. He had just purchased lotion for weary knees and new cushions to line his shoes. "I'm forever young."

Matt Viser can be reached at maviser@globe.com.