A sampling of programs offered by Arts Alive for senior communities

•   Ball-Drumming (watch this video to see the phenomenon in action).  Classes will be infused with a cultural enrichment component---using music and rhythms from the African Diaspora, Latin America, and the Asian-Pacific region. 

•   African Drum Circles and workshops

•   Arts Alive Classes and Concerts, Celebrating the Cultural Heritage Months and Holidays: Weekly or monthly classes and workshops, plus optional interactive performance series, representing diverse cultures and traditions of music, dance, theater, storytelling – followed by optional Q&A with artists.  To include celebrations of the season, heritage months and other commemorations: i.e. Martin Luther King (Jan); Black History Month and Valentine’s Day (Feb); Irish Heritage/St. Patrick’s (March); Arab Heritage Month and Earth Day (April); May Day, Mother’s Day, Asian Pacific Heritage Month (May); Summer Solstice & Father’s Day (June); Independence Day (July); Hispanic Heritage (Sept); Italian Heritage Month and Halloween (Oct); Native American Heritage Month and Thanksgiving (Nov); Holiday Season (Dec).  

•    Carpe Diem! Creating a Choral Community: weekly song sessions and occasional performance opportunities---plus a monthly cross-cultural, cross-generational Community Sing (when deemed safe, vis à vis pandemic)

•    Hands-on visual arts workshops: book-making, silk painting, mosaics, collage art, banners, decorated mirrors, picture frames, watercolor and oil painting, jewelry-making, note cards, murals, and more. 

•    Poetry and Songwriting:  Find the poet and songwriter within you! 

•    Ukulele!  Learn to play this wonderful little instrument. After 4-6 sessions, you will learn the basic 4-6 chords and strums to play hundreds of songs!  

•    Intergenerational activities – inviting the homeschooling community and others to participate in daytime workshops and other activities in the visual, literary and performing arts

•    Share Your Story:  Workshops exploring the art of storytelling and songwriting, in partnership with area high schools (students receive Student-Service Learning hours towards graduation) – Students interview seniors, chronicling and documenting their stories through film, audio, written word, visual arts.

•    Book Clubs, Poetry Groups, Creative Writing Workshops

•    Write your own bio and memoir:  A chance to get help with creating a life retrospective: to reflect, revel in memories, share with others, and rest on laurels!

•    Acting classes and staged readings of Shakespeare, Dickens and other classics, plus contemporary plays---including local playwrights

•    Dance for Fun and Fitness: Workshops in African and Caribbean Dance, Besa Dance (West African take on Zumba Dancing!), Salsa dance, International folk-dancing, contra and square dancing, Ballroom and Swing (when deemed safe, post-pandemic)

•    Monthly dance with live music, featuring whichever style of dancing was taught that month – inviting the public and participants’ families and friends to attend (again, post-pandemic)

•    Field trip series to attend area high school drama, musical theatre productions, band, orchestra and choral concerts

•    FREE VIRTUAL PROGRAMS on Zoom and Facebook Live: Welcoming all ages! Daily Antidote of Song each and every day at 12 noon; monthly Community Sings and "Family Fun Nights" (invite your grandchildren to join you!); bi-monthly "House Concerts" and other special events. Check out program offerings c/o Healthy Families | Healthy Communities.  And follow Carpe Diem Arts on social media if possible. We would love for you to be part of our extended community!  Here is the flyer with more info re. free programs.