SENIOR SHOW: Musician and friends volunteer entertainment
Published 6:50 pm Wednesday, July 1, 2015
Mah Jongg, aerobics, bingo, bridge, yoga, hand sewing and painting classes — the Grace Harwell Senior Center in Washington has a lineup of activities for area seniors. Recently, they’ve added music to the mix with an afternoon concert on the last Tuesday of every month — a one-man show that features plenty of guest artists.
The man is singer/songwriter/guitarist Bob Daw, and his guest artists largely come from the ranks of the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association. The show is purely for the love of music and sharing that love with others.
“I wanted to volunteer and do something, and me, the only thing I know to do is a little bit of music,” Daw said.
Daw has friends who are members, so it seemed a natural fit for him to lend his talents to the senior center. For the past four months, 50 to 60 people have stopped by to get an earful of traditional music, rock classics and Daw’s own songs. It’s also a good way to share the mission of the Beaufort County Traditional Music Association.
“It’s all for free and it’s something that — we’re just sharing our songs. We’re just trying to get in the ear of anyone who wants to know more about BCTMA,” Daw said, adding that since he’s being doing his two-hour shows, familiar faces from the senior center have been appearing at BCTMA’s regular Thursday night and Saturday morning jams. “It’s all about getting the word out to people in our area. It gives people a reason to dress up, go out and eat and come by and listen to some music.”
For the senior center, the Tuesday concerts are just one more activity among many, and proving to be a popular one, according to Colleen Puceta, the center’s recreation program specialist. Puceta said the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It offers such a different entertainment than what (the seniors) have. It’s live and he brings in different people every time, from guitars to singing, to banjo. It’s entertaiment that I just think is fun. It’s an awesome program. … The seniors have really enjoyed it. They’ve just loved it,” Puceta said.
While the center does have a painting class, and there have been other arts-oriented classes in the past, Daw’s musical volunteerism adds an important element to program roster.
“This is very important. Some seniors don’t have the access or funding to go to anything — to a museum, or a show,” Puceta said. “Anything we can offer here that is a free program, that is, I think, just so great for this community.”
Anyone over the age of 55 is welcome to the center and Daw’s monthly shows on the last Tuesday of every month, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.