Inverness tea dance event aims to combat loneliness by dancing the blues away
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People who enjoy music and meeting people are being invited to the afternoon get-together, which is aimed at tackling social isolation.
A variety of local musicians will again play at the traditional-style tea dance, accompanied by refreshments.
Organiser Gramophone DJ Martin Mackay, who plays shellac records on traditional gramophones, says the second event is in response to demand, with two further tea dances already planned for later in the year.
More than sixty people turned out to the first tea dance, held in March at The Smithton Free Church Hall in Inverness.
Mr Mackay said: “We organised the first tea dance in response to hearing a lot about the elderly in our community feeling isolated - and the afternoon really brought people together. We hope lots of people will come along again to enjoy the music, tea and cake - and maybe a spot of dancing too!”
An array of home-made cakes were specially created for the day by the team at Tesco Community, who are again supporting the summer event, and even paying for the cost of the hall hire to keep the afternoon free for people to attend.
Liz Sutherland, Tesco Community Champion, says “We are delighted to be taking part again in this event, the first one was lovely and enjoyed by so many people.
“I think that we don’t realise how many lonely people there are in our own community and we really hope that there will be a lot of support for the Senior Social Tea Dance once again.”
Fellow organiser STV reporter Nicola McAlley said: “We couldn’t believe how many people came along to the first tea dance so it makes sense to try to hold them regularly. It’s an opportunity for people to meet up, find out about local social organisations and hopefully make new friends.”
The Senior Springtime Social will be held at The Smithton Church Hall on Saturday July 29 from 2pm until 4.30pm. A limited number of free tickets are available at The Dunbar Centre, Church Street, Inverness. The afternoon will see a variety of entertainment. As well as Shellac records from Martin, there will be music from local singer Alison Gilbert, live accordion playing by Frankie Fraser, and a performance from singer-songwriter Emma Mitchell.
Local social groups such as The Dunbar Centre and Contact The Elderly will also attend.
