Singing in the Season with the Kansas City Symphony at the KC Memory Cafe

We were already in a holiday mood. A layer of sparkling snow blanketed Kansas City. Our generous neighbors at Cosentino’s Market in Brookside donated fresh-baked sugar cookies, colorful frostings, and cheerful sprinkles so our guests could decorate their own holiday cookies. Now we were ready for singing in the season with the Kansas City Symphony at the KC Memory Cafe. 
You’ve probably read about the intimate concerts of earlier times: stellar musicians gathered in a drawing room offering their talents to a small group of esteemed guests. As we settled into the Lower Level of the Plaza Library, a quartet of symphonic musicians assembled to play holiday music just for us. What a treat to nibble on the sweet decadence of sugar cookies while listening to angelic arrangements of holiday favorites. We swayed, we hummed, we sang along, and applauded vigorously as the magical music connected and transported us.
As the musicians launched into Jingle Bells, we heard an extra jingling. It was our own Santa Claus, bringing us his jolly “Ho, ho, ho’s” and a bag of Christmas cheer. We all sang, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” celebrated our musicians, and had our photos taken with Santa. We left humming and hopeful.#
Thanks to the KC Symphony for the amazing gift of music. Thanks to Cosentino’s Market for the delicious treats. And thanks to our attendees, our Dementia Friendly partners, and our amazing community volunteers. 
We hope you can join us for our 2020 dementia friendly series. Our Movies & Memories program meets the first Wednesday of the month at 10:30 in the Truman Forum of the Plaza Library. We enjoy live music, great movie clips, and delicious popcorn. 
Our KC Memory Cafe meets on the third Tuesday of each month in the lower level of the library. 
Our featured Cafe presenters will include the Kansas City Zoo, the Kansas City Ballet, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, and the The National Museum of Toys and Miniatures. All are welcome. 

Deborah Shouse is the author of Connecting in the Land of Dementia: Creative Activities to Explore Together and Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey.

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Creating a Dementia Friendly Kansas City

Luck. Kismet. The stars aligning. Those are all valid descriptions of our April 5th event, Creating a Dementia Kansas City.

First, we were lucky to have two great speakers: Emily Kearns, PhD, formerly of Dementia Friendly Massachusetts and Michelle Niedens, from the University of Kansas Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Then, a lovely splash of kismet  when Emily and April Roy, Director of the Plaza Library, were invited to join Gina Kaufmann on KCUR’s Central Standard.

Thanks to Central Standard and lots of grass roots marketing, almost 100 people attended from many different sectors. Our attendees included representatives from The Alzheimer’s Association, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, The Kansas City Symphony, The Renaissance Festival, KC Actors Theatre, The Naka-Kon Anime Convention, the Mayor’s office of Culture and Creative Services, as well as the medical and healthcare communities, senior services providers, the library community, first responders, faith communities, social work consortiums, people who are living with dementia and their friends and care partners, community volunteers, and more.

Our vision was beautifully articulated by our two speakers: “We envision Kansas City as a community where every citizen feels welcomed, valued, and engaged.”

We’ve only just begun and we welcome your support. 

 

 

Click on this link to enjoy a brief sampling of our Dementia Friendly Kansas City official launch

Click here to preview some inspiring action steps

Click to view informative and inspiring short videos on our YouTube channel

Please consider joining us for our follow through Lunch and Learns.

Deborah Shouse is the author of Connecting in the Land of Dementia: Creative Activities to Explore Together and Love in the Land of Dementia: Finding Hope in the Caregiver’s Journey.

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