Tag: Person Living With Dementia
4-Week Series on Wednesdays, January 7 – 28, 2026 | 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Join us for Pride in Our Memories, a 4-week art series designed to celebrate self-expression and identity through a variety of artistic mediums in a welcoming, inclusive community space.
This series is intended for LGBTQ2+ individuals living with mild to moderate dementia, their care partners, and allies who wish to deepen their understanding and connection to this vibrant community. Participants are encouraged to engage at their own pace and in their own unique way—no previous art experience is necessary.
For more information, please contact:
Tracey Adams-Thibaudeau
Email: TraceyAT@alz.to
Phone: 647-456-6168
6-Week Series on Tuesdays from January 13th – February 17th from 1:30-3PM at Riverdale Public Library located at 37 Broadview Ave.
January 13th, 20th, 27th, February 3rd, 10th & 17th 2026.
Step into Stories of a Lifetime, a joyful and inclusive workshop where every voice matters. Designed to embrace mild cognitive impairment and early-stage dementia participants and their care partners. This series—led by storyteller Sage Tyrtle—celebrates the magic of shared memories and the connections they bring. No experience needed!
To lighten the mood, we will have short laughing exercises with Magarita Caropresi.
What you’ll experience:
- Gentle, inspiring prompts to spark your unique stories
- A safe and supportive space where all voices and cognitions are respected and valued
- Creative expression through words, gestures, or keepsakes
- The power of storytelling to connect and uplift
Every story is a gift—whether whispered, remembered, or newly discovered. Come as you are, and let’s celebrate the tales that make us
who we are.
Sage Tyrtle is a professional storyteller and writer based in Toronto. Her work appears in New Delta Review, The Offing, Lunch Ticket, and Apex Magazine. She’s told stories on NPR, CBC Radio, and PBS’s Stories from the Stage, and has performed in Canada, the U.S., and India. A Moth StorySLAM winner and GrandSLAM champion, she teaches “The Art of Storytelling” in both educational and corporate settings.
For more information about this program, please contact Kristin Bartlett or by phone at 416-389-6099
4-Week Series on Tuesdays, Aug 5th to Aug 26th from 10:00 – 11:30 P.M, on Zoom
Art therapy is a mental health profession that combines the process of creative art expression with models of counselling and psychotherapy to enhance emotional, physical, and mental well-being.
Kathleen Downie has facilitated many engaging art programs for AST clients over the years and is now an art therapy student attending the Vancouver Art Therapy Institute (VATI) distance program. Kathleen has offered to facilitate this virtual art therapy group sessions as part of her training.
Group art therapy sessions will provide participants with opportunities to work independently and with others to explore and express feelings and ideas that arise using a range of art techniques and materials –which will be sent out to participants. Group art therapy offers unique opportunities for support and encouragement through the close and supportive connection of the group members.
If you have any questions, contact Kathleen
The Community Connections Café is a welcoming space where people with memory loss or Dementia, and their care partners, can come to connect with others and support their brain health while socializing. This is an opportunity to enjoy simple refreshments and make new friends in a Dementia Friendly Community Space.
The Community Connections Cafe focuses on social wellness for people with memory loss or Dementia, and their care partners. The program is informal with the intended atmosphere of a local coffee shop where participants can chat over a beverage, do something creative, or play a game.
Every 2nd Wednesday of the month from 12:30pm to 2:30pm In-person at our AST Mid Scarborough Hub.
Address: 2658 Eglinton Avenue East, Scarborough, ON, M1K2S3
Registration is required for this program and closes at midnight (12am) the day prior to the event.
Please specify the number of guests attending when you register. You may register up to 3 persons per group.
The Community Connections Café is a welcoming space where people with memory loss or Dementia, and their care partners, can come to connect with others and support their brain health while socializing. This is an opportunity to enjoy simple refreshments and make new friends in a Dementia Friendly Community Space.
The Community Connections Cafe focuses on social wellness for people with memory loss or Dementia, and their care partners. The program is informal with the intended atmosphere of a local coffee shop where participants can chat over a beverage, do something creative, or play a game.
Every 3rd Wednesday of the month from 2:30pm to 4:30pm In-person at our AST Head Office
Location: 20 Eglinton Ave West, 16th Floor, Toronto
(Northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton, across the street from Yonge and Eglinton subway station. Our office tower is to the left of Metro Grocery)
Registration is required for this program and closes at midnight (12am) the day prior to the event.
Please specify the number of guests attending when you register. You may register up to 3 persons per group.
Monday, November 3rd from 2:00 – 3:00 P.M on Zoom
Sign up for another insightful Explore Art with Jano, a virtual art appreciation program. We continue our series “Focus on Nature” with a session on gardens. Spaces for contemplation and relaxation gardens have been turned into luscious landscapes or intriguing vistas since time immemorial.
Join us with your curiosity and come ready to share thoughts and ideas. We will focus on a variety of gardens to pause and ponder at how artists have rendered these typically green spaces that offer us respite from our everyday routines.
Jano Cortijo is an arts educator whose work finds him engaging audiences of various ages, abilities, and backgrounds in museums, classrooms, community centres, and online. Straying far from the canon to elevate artists and works that have been excluded or erased from mainstream conversations, Cortijo encourages critical discussion while connecting the participants’ individual histories and stories with the art and art makers.
Image caption:
Pierre Bonnard, The Orchard, 1899
Lithograph, 13 x 14 inches
4-Week Series on Mondays from November 10th – December 1st from 1:30 PM – 3:00 PM at AST located at 20 Eglinton Ave West, 16th floor.
November 10th, 17th, 24th, December 1st 2025
Did you know that you improvise everyday? Believe it! In Joking Aside: Improv …with Nigel, we will take that very skill you already have and use it to creatively learn, play – and most importantly – laugh. A bunch! Best part is – you don’t need to be funny. You just need to be in the moment. Yes, and… this 4-part series workshop will include entry level games and exercises that expand the world of improv and open other ways for you to communicate with your family, friends and peers. No Experience necessary. Positivity and an open mind, a must. This series is appropriate for people living with mild to moderate dementia or cognitive impairments, no background in improv, all are welcome.
For more information about this program, please contact Kristin Bartlett or by phone at 416-389-6099
Wednesdays, February 4th – March 11th from 2:00 – 3:00 PM on Zoom
February 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, March 4th, & 11th 2026
This program explores different musical genres though live musical performances and engaging conversations such as music on Broadway, music and meditation, great composers, jazz, musical improvisation, and music and memories! It is an hour of pure joy and fun!
Steve Koven is a composer, performer, producer, educator, and filmmaker. His band the Steve Koven Trio has toured the world for more than two decades, and they have been coined the ‘Canadian Cultural Ambassadors’. As an educator, Steve has been teaching in the Faculty of Music at Toronto’s York University, teaching Contemporary Improvisation and Jazz Piano Studies. He also teaches in the Music Department at Centennial College.
This series is appropriate for learners at all levels and provides opportunities for each participant to engage at their own pace and in their own style.
For more information about this program, please contact Kristin Bartlett or by phone at 416-389-6099
6-Week Series on Thursdays, July 3rd – August 7th from 1:30 – 3:00 PM at AST located at 20 Eglinton Ave West, 16th floor.
July 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th, 31st, & August 7th 2025
Photography is more than just taking pictures—it’s a way to see the world, tell stories, create and hold onto wonderful memories. In this interactive workshop, we invite you to explore the joy of capturing everyday moments through photography.
Over six sessions, we will reconnect with personal memories, discover new ways of seeing, and engage in meaningful conversations inspired by the images we create. Each week, we will reflect on our photographs, share our experiences, and explore different themes—from light and shadow to storytelling through pictures. No prior photography experience is needed; it is said that the best camera is the one you have, this workshop is about creative expression and personal connection.
Join us as we slow down, curiously observe the world around us, and find beauty in the small details. Let’s create together, share our stories, and celebrate the moments that matter.
About the Instructor:
Pradeepto Roy is a visual storyteller who believes that photography offers a unique way to engage with the world. It allows us to slow down, reconnect with our senses, and discover the beauty that often goes unnoticed. Through intentional photography, we not only capture memories but also create new ones—bringing joy and meaningful connections. Pradeepto has worked with children, adults and individuals living with dementia and their care partners, and through this workshop, he invites you to be present, explore your creativity, and make memories that will last a lifetime.
Join our monthly social at our Mid-Scarborough Hub, 2658 Eglinton Ave E. Scarborough.
This program is an opportunity to meet like-minded people, to engage in meaningful conversations, tap into our creativity and get active. This two-hour social is a great way to find your community and partake in gentle movement to great playlists. East End Friends is intended for people living with dementia and their care partners, and it is offered through a culturally inclusive, accessible and dementia-friendly lens. Light refreshments will be served.
Contact: Please contact Tracey for more information or by phone at 647 456 6168