The association Gesundheit und Alter e.V. has set itself the task of promoting public health and welfare care as well as supporting and strengthening neighborhood assistance and caring relatives. It is responsible for the Lossetal day care center, a semi-stationary gerontopsychiatric facility for people with dementia, which contributes to regional care for people in need of care. The motto of the association and the facility is: “Bringing people into society.” With this in mind, we organized a concert with the Trio Wildblume on 12 March 2025 for the guests of the day care facility, elderly people from the neighbourhood and caregiving relatives.

It is usually no longer possible for day care guests and other elderly people to independently take advantage of the cultural offerings of the city of Kassel or the surrounding communities. Caring relatives also find it difficult to find the time and leisure to attend concerts and other cultural events. It is particularly challenging for them to take their relatives with dementia to events. This is because the toilets are often difficult to reach, the program is too long, the surroundings are unfamiliar or the time does not suit.

We have succeeded in reducing these hurdles: The concert took place in the same building as the day care center. This is located in the old town center of Niederkaufungen, very close to the village church, and is particularly well-known to the day care guests and their relatives, but also to the people in the neighborhood. The hall is also easily accessible via an elevator, and there are disabled toilets on the same floor right next door. The concert took place in the afternoon at a convenient time for older people. We were therefore able to create easy access to an enjoyable afternoon concert for our target group and, in particular, recognize the care work of family carers. Funding from the Care for Future Foundation made it possible to engage the Trio Wildblume from Kassel for the concert.

At 3 p.m., the day care guests slowly made their way from the first floor to the second floor and the other guests from the neighborhood and caregiving relatives gradually arrived. By the time everyone had hung up their jackets, parked their walking frames and taken their seats, it was time for the welcome and the start of the concert.

The Trio Wildblume’s program Alte Lieder – neu gehört (Old Songs – Heard anew) gives traditional folk songs a new lease of life and is dedicated to the themes of love and nature, as well as politics and society. The trio describes itself and its motto as follows: “The name Trio Wildblume is … chosen with care: these are the cheeky little plants that brighten up inhospitable roadside terrain as a ‘Kassel mixture’ and are highly welcome as bee food.” As an association that also attaches great importance to sustainable management, we were particularly pleased with this, in addition to the program, which was well suited to our audience!

One member of the audience was celebrating his 89th birthday that day, so the first song was a birthday serenade that everyone sang along to in canon. This was followed by “Im Märzen der Bauer” and many other well-known folk songs, which invited the audience to sing and clap along, but also just to listen. The concert itself lasted just under an hour. There was long and joyful applause at the end. A woman over 100 years old said happily: “It reminded me so much of my youth, I could sing along to all the songs!” After the concert, it was clear from some of the faces that, in addition to the joy, there was also exhaustion. There were lots of helping hands in the checkroom and to accompany us in the elevator and on the stairs. As a result, everyone was able to make their way home in good spirits.

We could also see from the full donation box that people enjoyed the concert. We can use these donations to finance the hall hire. There was also a lot of positive feedback about the organization of the concert: The escorting of visitors through the stairwell to their seats, the choice of venue and, above all, the selection of musicians and their program were praised.

With around 50 guests, the hall was well filled, but there was still enough space in the aisles for walkers or wheelchairs. It was a pleasure to bring joy to others with this concert!