“Promoting the Creative Arts for Lifelong Learning and Community Engagement, Health and Wellness, Happiness, Fun and Fitness.”
Ongoing and Recent Program Offerings
Did you know that Carpe Diem offers classes at several Montgomery County Recreation Centers for seniors ages 55+? These classes are FREE for Montgomery County residents! Registration is required for the following classes (check Active Montgomery or call the Recreation Center for more information on registration):
|
Silver Spring Recreation Dance for Fun and Fitness |
Wheaton Recreation Center
Harlem Renaissance Cultural Explosion Quilt Portraits: My Life Matters Collage Ukelele Club |
|
Jane E. Lawton Community Watercolor Quilt Portraits: My Life Matters |
Gwendolyn E. Coffield Community Kawandi Quilts |
|
Marilyn J Praisner Community Therapeutic Yoga |
Potomac Community Recreation Center Drumming |
“. . . The arts have been an inseparable part of the human journey; indeed, we depend on the arts to carry us toward the fullness of our humanity. . .”
— National Standards for Arts Education
A sampling of programs offered by Arts Alive for senior communities
• FREE VIRTUAL PROGRAMS on Zoom and Facebook Live: Welcoming all ages! Daily Antidote of Song each and every day at 12 noon ET -- featuring award-winning recording artists from diverse cultures and traditions of song, along with meaningful conversations.
• African Drum Circles and workshops: Engaging and dynamic!
• Monthly Concerts and Special Events, Celebrating the Cultural Heritage Months and Holidays: 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; or monthly cross-cultural, cross-generational Community Sing
• 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.
• Mural Project (mosaic or painted)--Click HERE to see a visual presentation about Carien Quiroga's recent mural at Damascus Senior Center.
• Poetry and Songwriting: Find the poet and songwriter within you!
• Writing it Down: Surviving Grief One Word at a Time: A workshop designed by International Poetry Slam Champion Gayle Danley to introduce participants to the freedom and catharsis of writing poetry. Most of us are grieving the loss of loved ones and One Word at a Time opens the space for honest discussion, expression and joy using Gayle's easy, fun 4-step writing process. Participants learn how to channel their grief into words and how to share those words in a nonjudgmental, supportive environment.
• Ukulele! Learn to play this wonderful little instrument. After 6 sessions, you will learn the basic 4-6 chords and strumming patterns: enough 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 create 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 and special events (sometimes with live music!)---Bhangra and Bollywood Dance; African and Caribbean Dance; Besa Dance (West African take on Zumba Dancing); Latin dance (salsa, mambo, merengue, rumba, bachata, bomba and plena); Tango; International Folkdancing; Contra, Square and Circle dancing; Line Dancing; Ballroom and Swing
• Monthly dance with live music, featuring whichever style of dancing was taught that month – inviting the public and participants’ families and friends to attend (see above listing of dance styles)
• Field trip series to attend area high school drama and musical theatre productions, band, orchestra and choral concerts, and more!
• Ball-Drumming: Classes will be infused with a cultural enrichment component---using music and rhythms from the African Diaspora, Latin America, and the Asian-Pacific region.
Follow Carpe Diem Arts on social media. We would love for you to be part of our extended community!
For more information or to bring Arts Alive to your site or community, please contact us.
GRAMMY Award winning duo Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer at White Oak Community Center