Residents at Friends Place, got their dancing shoes on to celebrate this year’s National Bingo Day with a fun, inclusive and boogie-woogie afternoon of Musical Bingo! National Bingo Day is a day dedicated to celebrating and enjoying the great game of Bingo! As the residents at Friends Place definitely love their weekly Bingo sessions, the care team wanted to make the day extra special. “Knowing how much the residents love their regular Bingo! games, and adore all genres of music, we wanted to do something a bit different for this year’s National Bingo! Day,” said Alina Gutu, the General Manager at the care home.
“We contacted a local company, Midas Touch Events, who specialise in Musical Bingo! and they agreed to come along and host an inclusive and accessible, fun afternoon for the residents,” added Elisha Hall-Jones, the Activities Coordinator at Friends Place.
“The residents never miss their regular Bingo! games, it’s one of the most popular sessions on our wide and varied activities calendar and we had a ‘Full House’ turnout for the Musical Bingo! afternoon,” continued Alina.
“Playing a standard, normal game of Bingo! is a great pastime for the residents as it can sharpen and stimulate mental agility, help brain functions and improve hand to eye coordination, but Musical Bingo! has many other positive benefits,” said Elisha.
“Music Bingo! is a great game to help with reminiscing and it also starts conversations. The residents chatted about their memories of certain songs and the singers which brought back lots of happy times.”
“The other benefits to older people of playing Music Bingo! is that it allows an individual to sing out loud, dance and move. These things help to reduce anxiety and provide a wonderful light form of exercise. The interactive game also encourages memory recall and concentration as, by carefully listening to identify the songs, it keeps minds active and engaged,” added Alina.
Musical Bingo! is not only a different and exciting take on the classic game, but it also has an interactive twist as the Bingo! card numbers are replaced with song titles and artists.
“Once all the residents had their Musical Bingo! scorecards, the Midas Touch Events Host played songs which were listed on the cards. The residents listened to the song clips and marked off the matching songs or artists’ names on their cards. An added bonus was that the songs played for quite a while, giving the residents an opportunity to have a dance as well,” continued Elisha. “The different games followed a similar route as classic Bingo! – One Line, Two Lines, Diagonal and, of course, the main attraction – A Full House.”
“The residents really are ‘Fonts of all Knowledge’ and Bingo! trivia is not exception,” added Alina. “One resident told me that the famous Gladiator actor, Russell Crowe, was a Bingo! Caller in his 20s back in his Australian hometown and that the iconic American television star, actor and recording artist, RuPaul, hosts and performs at many Musical Bingo! events too – their depth and breadth of knowledge never ceases to amaze me.”
“I had never played Bingo! until I moved here,” said Resident, Mary Parsons, who made Friends Place her home eight months ago. “I really enjoy the regular Bingo! sessions, they have a great, crazy atmosphere and are so much fun. However, now I’ve played Musical Bingo! there’s no turning back, that’s definitely my favourite type of Bingo! now.”
“All the residents had a fantastic time at the Musical Bingo! afternoon and have asked to have Midas Touch Events back again – very soon – for more musical fun,” added Elisha.
“It was really heartwarming to see the residents and respite guests so engaged and motivated as they participated and took part in the Musical Bingo! games, enjoyed a sing-along, dance and, of course, lots of laughs too,” concluded Alina.
Find out more about Friends Place by calling 0118 207 8512 or emailing [email protected] .