Our story with Dementia
Memory Fest – Our Story So Far
In January 2016, MemoryFest was born as a result of our personal experiences with this terrible condition, thanks to an idea that my Dad, Stephen, had.
My Grandparents were fighting with this, with Gran looking after my Grandad who had been diagnosed with early onset Mixed Dementia Alzheimer’s / Vascular on 20th March 2013 after having an assessment and brain scan.
Their lives had changed dramatically and until you are affected by this condition it is difficult to really understand just how much upset it does cause.
My Mum, Cathy, of course, works with dementia clients on a daily basis, and has had first-hand experience of how it not only affects the client but also their family.
The first event, was in May 2016, a Classic Rock live concert, which took place in Club Bliss, Kirkintilloch, just outside Glasgow, Scotland.
This gig raised an amazing figure of just under £2,000 with the money being split between Alzheimer Scotland and Dementia UK.
Sadly, during the summer of 2016 my Grandad’s condition deteriorated very rapidly and he passed away on 12th September.
However, this didn’t meant that we gave up our aim of raising awareness for Alzheimer’s and Dementia and in the process, more funds for some of the organisations that work in this area and in October 2016.
Our second Memory Fest event took place in Oban, Scotland, in conjunction with a project that I was working on that I named “Challenge to Remember”.
This time, however the theme was Glam Rock with Fancy Dress and the £1,448 raised went to Alzheimer’s Research UK.
The third event, MemoryFest ‘17 was back in Club Bliss again with Classic Rock and took place in April 2017. This time raising about £700 for Alzheimer Scotland.
The last event we planned was actually a Virtual Memory Fest in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic. We were lucky that artists all over Cornwall wanted to help and to sign on to Facebook Live to give us some brilliant performances and keep people at home entertained during the lock down!
This online event raised a grand total of £1,010 for Alzheimer’s Society.
Finally, our next Memory Fest is in the process of planning in Tenerife, and although we have no set dates yet, we are excited to bring it to life!
Watch This Space!
TOTAL FUNDS
RAISED SO FAR
£ 5,858
Take A Wee Nosey At Our Fundraiser Events
As mentioned on the Memory Fest story, Challenge to Remember was a project that I came up with in 2016 whilst I was living and working in Oban, Scotland.
My idea was to have people challenge me to do different things in exchange of a donation, I got challenged to do things such as paddle in the Loch Awe, find certain plants in the woods or even explore some locations in Oban.
The biggest challenge was of course organising Memory Fest Oban which we made a Halloween Glam Rock event raising just under £1,450.
The next challenge I would set myself was ”Skydive to Remember” in 2018 whilst I was working in London as a Nanny.
I wanted to do something big, and so that is what I did!
I raised £ 700 for Alzheimer’s Society.
After this, I kind of left Challenge to Remember a side as lots of changes came to my life, I moved back to Tenerife, once settled, Covid hit, and between pandemics, work and life, I haven’t been able to organise anything until now, although this will be done under the name Tiny Blue Flower.
Our baby Noah is due at the end of July 2022 and we are so excited for his arrival, so although planning has started for Memory Fest Tenerife, we are still balancing everything and will be adjusting to parenthood first!