Elderly to rave away in pop-up nightclub

A POP-UP nightclub will appear at an Ellesmere Port care home for elderly residents to get their groove on to mark BBC Music Day on Thursday, 26^th September.

The inflatable nightclub will be installed in the garden at Aaron Court Care Home, on Princes Road.

The day sees the launch of the BBC Music Memories website and its Memory Radio function. Designed specifically for people living with dementia, the site aims to stimulate memory through music by helping people to reconnect with music from their past using the extensive BBC archives.

Residents and guests at Aaron Court Care Home will be invited to enter the “rave tent”, so called by provider Widnes Bouncy Castle Hire, for a dance and singalong.

Instead of the electronic dance music and strobe lighting usually associated with raves, the care home’s version will include favourites such as Elvis Presley and Dame Vera Lynn.

Amy Jones, activities coordinator at Aaron Court Care Home, which provides specialist dementia care, came up with the idea after seeing a story of care home residents in Nottingham enjoying a nightclub experience.

She said: “I saw a story online about residents in Nottingham going to a nightclub event specifically for the elderly and thought we could do something similar.

“Widnes Bouncy Castle Hire provide these amazing rave tents, which are inflatable cubes with a nightclub inside.

“We thought it would be a great way to mark BBC Music Day and the launch of their Memories website and radio station, which I’m sure we’ll be making use of at Aaron Court.

“The pop-up nightclub also provides therapeutic benefits for our residents with dementia, as the music can help bring back memories and generally improve mood and wellbeing.”

Residents from Aaron Court Care Home’s sister homes across Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester, operated by the Hill Care Group, have also been invited to enjoy the pop-up nightclub.

Anyone else who would like to join residents for a boogie and buffet is welcome to attend at various times throughout the day. There are two available slots: 2pm to 4pm and 5pm to 7pm.