Edinburgh's Dementia Friendly Tea Parties get toes tapping

The tea party events are sold out until April and feature music, dancing, singing - and a great cup of tea

Amongst a packed programme of spectacular performances, Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre open the doors to their Lafayette Bar once a month to a delightfully fun afternoon with tea, cake and live music for their Dementia Friendly Tea Party Event.

The popular event sees entertainment from professional musicians to local community dance schools as they perform to a sold out afternoon of a community who often find themselves feeling like they don’t have the confidence to attend arts performances.

The Festival Theatre has made a dedication to be more inclusive with their programme of dementia friendly events which strives to give those living with dementia the confidence to participate in events at the cultural space.

They are part of a programme of events designed to give people living with dementia the confidence to come to the theatre

“The whole of our dementia friendly programme started back in around 2015 and it originally came in as we saw a drop in attendance,” said Dawn Irvine, the Learning and Participation Co-ordinator. “It was because they were no longer feeling confident in coming to the theatre and that was sometimes through a diagnosis of dementia.

“We were lucky enough to get funding from the Life Changes Trust and they have been funding the programme for the last five years.

“It has allowed our staff to go through dementia awareness training with Age Scotland or Alzheimers Scotland and now we have a flourishing programme of dementia-friendly events.”

There are around 8000 people in Edinburgh living with dementia that are known about and it is a growing issue.

As part of the dementia-friendly programme, the monthly tea party is a colourful event which brings together a community of individuals to a safe space where they are able to participate in singing, dancing, or just sit and enjoy a cup of tea. “It’s about bringing the community together, advocating and normalising it, raising awareness and it helps people at risk of social isolation,” Dawn added.

The afternoon is lively, with classic feel good tunes which have visitors on their feet dancing and singing along, all while enjoying a good cup of tea and a delicious bake.

“Music is often a great sensation for those living with dementia,” Dawn said, “I once even had a gentleman with dementia dance a beautiful foxtrot with me who remembered the steps exactly.”