TAKING FLIGHT
Interactive Music Program for Seniors
Southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia – April, 2009
The Ptarmigan Music & Theatre Society is pleased to announce the increasing popularity of their TAKING FLIGHT Interactive Music Program for Seniors since being established in 2002. Subsidized by grants from the Vancouver Island Health Authority, The Greater Victoria CRD, the BC Gaming Commission, the Charlton Smith Foundation, The Coast Capital Savings Foundation, the Leon and Thea Koerner Foundation, the Hamber Foundation and the Victoria Foundation, TAKING FLIGHT focuses on providing accessible, affordable and interactive music programs for seniors’ centres in the Victoria / Gulf Islands region and beyond.
Ptarmigan’s TAKING FLIGHT program is interactive, utilizing singing, movement and music developed in consultation with care centre therapists and activation coordinators. Performances are tailored to the needs of the residents of individual seniors’ centres, featuring musicians playing songs and instrumentals from a variety of eras and cultures, including swing music from the 1920s through to the 1960s, along with cultural songs, classical music, Celtic and other ethnic music. Musicians among the seniors are encouraged to join in, while all in attendance are invited to sing and dance along.
Besides providing an enjoyable afternoon of song and dance, Ptarmigan’s goals for TAKING FLIGHT are multi-faceted, including: helping to ease loneliness, isolation and marginalization caused by loss of one’s home, family, friends, or by mounting physical disabilities; increasing opportunities for social activity within the centre; enhancing activation & therapy programs for residents; providing seniors with a chance to enjoy entertainment they can no longer access due to poverty, lack of support or newly acquired physical disabilities; providing audiences with a change of entertainment and providing music that reflects the different cultures present in the community and allows seniors to see a reflection of their own cultural identity.
Given the number of invitations Ptarmigan has received for return engagements, they strongly believes that the TAKING FLIGHT program provides a genuinely valuable service that improves the quality of life for the seniors in our communities.
To ensure their workshops and events are non-discriminatory, the Ptarmigan Society strives to make their programs affordable, if not free of charge, as often as possible. As result, Ptarmigan relies on donations from government agencies, corporate sponsors and private individuals, and couldn’t operate without community support. Please note that the Ptarmigan Music & Theatre Society is a registered charity and issues tax receipts for financial donations or donations in kind, including musical instruments, art supplies, computers, A/V equipment, t-shirts, or alternately welcomes professional accounting and legal services, catering for workshops, printing of brochures and posters, BC Ferry vouchers and other transportation expenses to assist them in their operations.
If you would like more information on Ptarmigan’s TAKING FLIGHT program, or to schedule an interview with Patrick Smith, Artistic Director, please call 1-866-859-0634 or email: info@ptarmigansociety.org
recent quotation from Victoria Seniors gigs