April 2015 Events in Denver, CO: Believe in Yourself

Welcome to April - the name derived from the Latin word Aperire meaning “to open”; the month when everything starts to bloom and come alive. What better time to really put forth your best efforts and see the true beauty inside than the month in which everything begins anew! Diana Ross, in the Wiz, advises “believe in yourself, right from the start. You'll have brains; you’ll have a heart; you’ll have courage to last your whole life through if you believe in yourself.” So let’s put our best foot forward, believe in ourselves and we can move mountains!

Join us for our April 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center as we pull pranks on April Fool’s Day; honor Jesus Christ on Good Friday, followed by hiding Easter eggs; celebrate the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery on Passover; and celebrate mother earth on Earth Day and Arbor Day. Peruse this month’s calendar as we focus on the brain through our Daily Brain Builders, Wii tournaments and our Healthy Brain Luncheon. Plan to join us for any and all events. Also, check out our Healthy Aging Resource Library to learn more about the brain or any number of health related topics. We look forward to seeing you during this fun filled month.

Our fabulous April 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center include our:

Ø  Mind, Body & Spirit: Make the Connection educational gathering for our Partners in Health Care, First Responders and family members as our guest speaker will share about how an active body, engaged mind and fulfilled spirit makes an individual complete and field questions from the audience on April 9^th at 10:00 am.

Ø  Brain Healthy Luncheon: Believe in Yourself for family and friends because eating a nutritious meal is a great way to balance the energy required to maintain an active lifestyle and a short presentation will be given by our dietary manager on April 15^th at noon.

Ø  Rock Your Brain: Sidekick Trivia Challenge for a lively competition to perk up your brain and have some fun on April 27^th at 2:30 pm.

We hope to see you at one or more of our April 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center!

Luck Of The Irish

Every year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick’s Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green.  The Spearly Center welcomed The Heritage Irish Step Dancers for a grand performance, a group of traditional Irish dance students, who perform in over fifty shows annually across the Denver metro area.  Additionally, Spearly hosted Luck Of The Irish: St. Patty’s Day Celebration, complete with festive foods, Irish music, and smiles and laughter shared by all!  May you and your family have the Luck Of The Irish all year long!

Awaken Your Passion: 5th Annual Spearly Art Show

Visual Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect. Creating art can improve well–being by decreasing negative emotions and increasing positive ones.  The Awaken Your Passion: 5th Annual Spearly Art Show was held in the Spearly Art Studio on February 26th and was a great success! A wide variety of individual and group art pieces were on display including acrylic, watercolor and oil paintings, sketches, oil pastel pieces, and charcoal drawings. Residents, associates and family always look forward to this fun and colorful event. Several residents submitted over 100 art pieces in this year's show, and there were about 50 attendees who voted on 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place winning pieces.  Additionally, some artists were on-site exhibiting their creativity in action.  Visual Arts can truly nurture the spirit of life!

Disco Fever Dance Off!

Spearly reminisced back to the 70’s for our 1^st Annual Disco Fever Dance Off party!  Residents and staff were shakin’ a tail feather to the sounds of Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, Blondie, The Trammps, Thelma Houston, and many other popular musical acts from the colorful Disco era.  Many sported afros, stylish hats and flashy 70’s funky threads as well.  Everyone enjoyed showing off their dance moves to The Electric Boogaloo, The Hustle and The Bump.  A “far out” time was had by all!  

Juniper Communities Introduces Theralink for Onsite Integrated Therapy at Juniper Village at the Spearly Center

Juniper Communities, a national owner-operator of Juniper Village senior living communities, is rolling out Theralink in all its facilities, and locally at Juniper Village at the Spearly Center. Theralink is an on-site program designed to help residents regain and maintain independence, fitness and overall wellbeing. It is being implemented through a newly established partnership between Juniper Communities and Genesis Rehab Services.

“Rehabilitation, restorative services, and fitness are vital to healthy aging and whole person wellness,” explains Lynne Katzmann, CEO and Founder of Juniper Communities. “Coordinated with other clinical services permits, Juniper will be able to provide integrated post-acute care onsite at the communities through Theralink. This is especially important for Juniper’s residents who want and need more intensive rehabilitation services in their ‘home’.”

Grant Welson, Area Director for Genesis Rehab Services states, “Juniper is taking an industry lead by creating Theralink to offer onsite therapy services where they are integrated into everyday patient care. Feedback from preliminary implementation from Juniper’s residents has been overwhelmingly positive.”

The Theralink program will provide physical, occupational, speech, and when needed respiratory therapy that is integrated into the care Juniper currently delivers. Elements of Theralink include special balance and strength training, and fall prevention programs; technology and apps that facilitate and record personal fitness training; dementia management programs that integrate cognitive and occupational therapies; cardiopulmonary management; and monthly assessment reports.

March 2015 Events in Denver, CO: Your Treasure Is Within

Treasure hunting has been around forever! The search for riches has evolved from archaeological digs revealing lost treasure to present day treasure hunts such as television’s “The Amazing Race”. Much has been written about the allure of treasure, but one thing that we’ve come to realize is that the treasure within is the most valuable of all. Each one of us has a treasure within and through our March 2015 events in Denver, CO we will be exploring that treasure at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center - be it your ability to sing, play a musical instrument, recite dramatic prose or balance a spoon at the end of your nose. No treasure is too small! In the immortal words of Captain Jack Sparrow, “Not all treasure’s silver and gold, mate.”

With our March 2015 events in Denver, CO at Juniper Village at The Spearly Center we end our Creative Expressions Series with a focus on Performance. Please join us during our March 2015 events in Denver, CO while we recognize “Your Treasure is Within” as we provide opportunities to express yourself through our weekly drama clubs and by attending theatrical performances. If step dancing and corned beef and cabbage is more your thing, sample all that is Irish with our annual St. Patrick’s Day party or walk the red carpet and share your movie trivia skills at our Oscar Party.

Our fabulous March 2015 events in Denver, CO include our Heritage Step Dancers Moving with Style performance as we welcome this energetic and talented group of performers for a pleasant morning of entertainment and fun with light refreshments on March 10^th at 10:00 am; our Luck of the Irish St. Patty’s Day Celebration our annual “Green Affair” where friends, family and our Greater Denver community are invited to partake in tasty treats and mix and mingle with our dear residents as traditional Celtic music will be played and door prizes will be awarded on March 17^th at 2:30 pm; or our North High School Drama Club presentation by a talented group of individuals who has taken the time to volunteer so graciously in our community on March 26^th at 10:00 am.  

We hope to see you at one or more of our March 2015 events in Denver, CO, so check out our calendar for more!

Awaken Your Passion: February Events

This month at Juniper Village we continue our Creative Expressions Series with a focus on Art.

Creating art for many of our seniors has been a lifelong passion, for others it may have been a casual hobby or serious vocation. Whatever the reason, art has substantial benefits to our bodies, minds and spirits! In Successful Aging, John W. Rowe, MD, and Robert L. Kahn, PhD, discuss key aspects of successful aging: low risk of disease, high mental and physical functioning, and being actively engaged in life. Expressive art activities promote active engagement in life in positive, healthy, and fulfilling ways - in other words, nurturing the spirit of life. Recent studies further indicate that older adults who participate in art programs have fewer doctor visits, use less medication, and experience a lower rate of depression – all resulting in lower healthcare costs.

Our fabulous activity offerings this month include our Will You Be Mine Valentine’s Day Social as we celebrate this heart-warming holiday with great music and tasty treats at this affair hosted in our quaint Country store for our dear family members and friendly neighbors with a chance to win a great raffle and other door prizes on February 13^th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; our Celebrate the Bayou Mardi Gras Festivity exciting gala festivities taking place in our Country store and overflowing to the patio with tasty Cajun food and traditional New Orleans music so don your favorite mask and pile on the beads as we celebrate the best of the Bayou deep in the heart of Spearly on February 17^th from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm; or our Awaken Your Passion 5^th Annual Spearly Art Show as we showcase the creative and artistic styles of our residents with prizes awarded in several categories on February 26^th from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm.

Look through our calendar and plan to join us this month and “Awaken Your Passion” as we explore various mediums to expression through weekly art programs and visits to local art museums. Or, if art isn’t your thing, tailgate with us during the Super Bowl, await the Ground Hog’s prediction, our join in one of our festive celebrations on Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day or Mardi Gras.