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.
