PRESQUE ISLE — Presque Isle will soon be home to two of Maine’s Memory Cafés. On Friday, Aug. 16, MemoryWorks and the Aroostook Agency on Aging launched the first Café at The Gathering Place at 33 Davis St. It will run every third Friday at 10:30 a.m.
The second Memory Café is set to open every fourth Wednesday at 2 p.m. at The Whole Potato Café & Commons, located at 428 Main St.
Memory Cafés started in 1997 in the Netherlands. An American version was adopted in 2008 by Jytte Lukvig in Arizona. They have grown exponentially ever since.
“A Memory Café celebrates the individual beyond the disease. It’s a respite from daily routines and issues relating to the diseases. Guests explore art, music, poetry and socialization. Laughter, love and merriment are the keystones of these cafes. Most of the host communities of these cafés offer numerous support groups for caregivers, freeing the cafés up to focus on socialization.”
Maine may soon overtake even California by the number of Memory Cafés. What MemoryWorks began in January of 2013 has already grown to include eight sites around the state. The demand is high for these cafés in Bangor, Dover-Foxcroft, York, Gorham and many other locations.
“We couldn’t do this without the efforts of the AAAs and people like Sharon Berz,” said Ken Capron, MemoryWorks co-founder. “We hope Memory Cafés help bring awareness and support to the dementia care community statewide.”
For more information, visit www.meetup.com/MemoryWorks/, or call Berz at the Aroostook Agency on Aging at 764-3396 or . Ken Capron at MemoryWorks in Portland at 797-7891.
