Our residents, their family and friends, the care team and members from the local community had a hip swivelling and rock n’ roll afternoon celebrating our 120th Anniversary.
The care team at our charity’s Malvern-based Davenham, Perrins House and Bradbury Court, the residential, nursing and dementia care homes which are collectively known as Friends of the Elderly Malvern, transformed the care homes’ grounds into a 1950s cowboy fiesta, even Elvis’s character, ‘Clint Reno’, in the 1956 western movie ‘Love Me Tender’ would have been proud of.
“The Malvern Meets Memphis event was amazing,” said Jo Bennett, the General Manager at Friends of the Elderly Malvern. “The care homes and grounds were truly metamorphosed into our very own Graceland, complete with Elvis, rock n’ roll music, dancing, and absolutely delicious Tennessee smoked BBQ and all the traditional accompaniments which was lovingly prepared by our Chef, Kevin Ratcliffe of TNS Catering and Morgan Mason, the company’s Regional Chef. The BBQ reviews were tremendous – everyone said it was out of this world.”
“We wanted to create and serve an authentic Memphis BBQ – as knowing how much The King of Rock n’ Roll loved BBQ, we wanted to make sure it was something Elvis would have enjoyed,” said Kevin. “I’d read that Elvis had a few favourite BBQ restaurants in Memphis, one of which was Jim Neely’s Interstate Barbeque and that he favoured their Memphis-style pulled pork and ribs. To pay homage and to make sure the residents would love the BBQ and cover everyone’s dietary requirements and preferences – and allergies – we served our own sticky pork ribs, slow smoked beef brisket, pulled smoked chicken and a vegetarian Cowboy bean stew.
“To accompany the tasty BBQ mains, we also served a range of sides – a healthy potato salad, a fresh coleslaw and what American BBQ wouldn’t be complete without Mac n’ Cheese? Morgan and I were so happy that it was a huge success with all the residents and guests.”
The residents, guests and care team thoroughly enjoyed the unique summer community event. “The weather was absolutely perfect,” continued Maricel Biringquez, the Unit Manager for Davenham and Bradbury Court. “We welcomed over 200 guests – 90 of those were from the local community – and clients from Malvern Day Care who, along with the residents, took a fun-filled journey back in time to the 1950s for an unforgettable event to mark Friends of the Elderly’s 120th Anniversary.”
Elvis, The King of Rock n’ Roll, also made an appearance for the afternoon, entertaining the crowds with a wide variety of his hits and other legendary songs of the decade. “Memphis Mike – put on his energetic and fantastic ‘Elvis’ tribute show, which had everyone up, dancing and singing along,” added Laura Smith, the Activities Coordinator at Bradbury Court.
However, it wasn’t just a scrumptious BBQ and hip shaking performances by Memphis Mike keeping the party going, there were also a great range of other fun activities for everyone to take part in. “We had The Malvern Arms Skittles Alley, garden games and Hoopla The American Bull game, all of which were great fun,” continued Maricel.
“During one of our regular reminiscing sessions, we had lots of conversations about what outfits the residents were going to wear,” added Laura. “In keeping with the ‘Malvern Meets Memphis’ theme, we had Cowboys, Cowgirls and even iconic 50s Pink Ladies.
“We also had a photo booth area complete with an authentic ‘Wanted’ Cowboy frame and a full sized Wild West Cowgirl and Cowboy photo stand-in plus other fun accessories, including inflatable instruments which were a huge success accompanying Memphis Mike’s performances.”
“Everyone at Friends of the Elderly Malvern had a marvellous time a the ‘Memphis Meets Malvern’ Community 1950s Summer BBQ Party. It was wonderful to see everyone having such a lovely, fun time and to welcome so many guests – the residents’ families, loved ones, friends and members of our local community. It really was the most ‘Elvis-tastic’ way to Friends of the Elderly’s milestone 120th anniversary,” concluded Jo.
Find out more about Friends of the Elderly Malvern by calling 01905 388 720 or emailing enquiries@fote.org.uk.