Senior Day Activities Get The Young-At-Heart in the Holiday Spirit

Release Date: 12/1/2000. Expired: 12/11/2000

Dickson’s Renaissance Center is offering senior citizens, ages 55 and older, a down-home day of holiday music and comedy along with a universal look at the historic origins of Christmas, all on Monday, December 11, beginning at 10 a.m.

Season of Light, a family feature in the CyberSphere that traces celebrations around the world, opens December’s Senior Day activities. Tickets to the show are available for $5.

Season of Light is narrated by Noah Adams from national public radio’s All Things Considered.

As taken from the show, “This is the time when the pulse of life slows, when the land sleeps under its winter blanket; a time for upturned collars, and hot cocoa, and the cheer of a wood fire against the gloom. It is the coldest and darkest of the seasons and yet this season holds some of the warmest and brightest celebrations of the year. And it always has. For in every age, it has always been our custom to turn this time of darkness into a Season of Light.”

“The show goes on to talk about how the season is celebrated in many cultures and the origins of the modern fixtures of the holiday; Christmas trees, the Menorah, Santa Clause,” stated Kevin Scott, director of Digital Theatre Productions. “The show also talks about the birth of Christ and offers some astronomical possibilities for the ‘Star of Bethlehem.’ The treatment is very reverent and quite positive.”

To add to the fun, there’s no place like home for the holidays and “A Dickson, Tennessee Christmas” will be sure to take you there. Elaine Sherrill, host and director of music education at the center, will have our seniors ‘Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree’ at a live taping at 1 p.m. in the Performance Hall. Admission to this event is free.

Featuring a live band, skits and the singing of Christmas favorites such as “Jingle-Bell Rock”, “Joy to the World”, “Walk Thru Bethlehem” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, the extraordinary talents of many fine artists will indeed provide for an hour of great entertainment.

“The idea for doing this show is to air it on Dickson’s local cable access Channel 19. Admission is free to the senior groups to add to the Senior Day Activities and to the public on a reservation or first-come-first-served basis until the Performance Hall is full,” stated Sherrill. “For local cable access programming, this is a wonderful opportunity to provide a quality, entertaining holiday variety program showcasing the talents of local residents and employees here at the center.”

For guests who would like to enjoy both of these wonderful holiday offerings, the Faraday Café is open for lunch with a menu sure to satisfy any appetite. A Senior Day Special consisting of vegetable soup, ham or turkey sandwich and drink can be ordered at a price of $4.50. Groups of 10 or more should order lunches ahead of time for convenience.

Not done with your Christmas shopping yet? A 15% Senior Day Discount on every item in The Virtually Unlimited Bookstore will also be given. Choose from fiction, history, gardening, children’s books, cook books, art supplies, educational games, gift certificates, novelty items, collectibles and much more that will be sure to please that hard-to-buy-for person or to fill up that Christmas stocking.

Visitors can also see the new exhibit in the Visual Arts Gallery. The Little Masters Art Exhibit, which will open December 7, displays artwork created by Dickson County school children.

These works will be on display throughout the holiday season and will emphasize the vast amount of upcoming talent in our community and encourage children to become art advocates.

To purchase tickets for $5 each to Season of Light, reserve a free seat in the Performance Hall for “A Dickson, Tennessee Christmas”, order lunches or obtain more information on The Renaissance Center’s Senior Day, call Laura Ross at (615)740-5507.