January Updates…

Hello everyone! As we come to an end to January, we will officially have been open for three months… wow, what an amazing time we’ve had! We have had lots of exciting things going on at the Playhouse for children, teens and adults with Down syndrome and their families. Since opening, we’ve been able to serve more than 100 individuals through our programs, and continue to look forward to serving many individuals with DS and their families in 2014! Here’s an overview of some of the things we currently have going on.

First, the playhouse is open Tuesday through Friday from 9-3. Please feel free to stop by the playhouse during any of our open hours to play, hang out, meet other families, or volunteer, you are always welcome! In addition, we have many programs outside of our normal business hours for individuals with Down syndrome of ALL ages… you can check out a calendar of classes by clicking here.

Currently, we have several fun projects we’re working on. The first is our Kolidiko Art Project! Please stop by the playhouse on Saturday, February 8 from 9:30-11:30 a.m. to work on a special art project that we’ll be auctioning off at our upcoming gala (more details on that in a bit.) We’ll be taking each piece of art that our kids and adults create, and making a montage from each of the individuals pictures. Click here for more information.

In addition, we’re looking for teens and adults to participate in a special singing performance at our gala. If you have DS and love to sing, we want to hear from you! This fun activity will be held each Saturday night at the playhouse beginning at February 1st at 6:30 p.m. We’ll serve pizza, and have fun activities planned, so please join us if you can! Anyone who participates, will receive a ticket for themselves and a guest to our upcoming gala on March 1st, where the performance will take place at around 8 p.m. Please email nashville@gigisplayhouse.org if you would like to participate.

Furthermore, we host an ongoing teen/young adult group which meets the 4th Saturday of every month from 6:30-8:30 p.m. We’d like to invite all parents, siblings and friends eat pizza, play games, hang out and have fun in our awesome teen room! Because we are called a playhouse, many older individuals think we are an organization just for kids. We’re not! We have many opportunities for teens and adults to come and hang out, volunteer and participate in activities. Please call the playhouse if you have any questions about how you can be a part of the fun activities offered at the playhouse.

Mark your calendars for our upcoming gala and auction on Saturday, March 1st at the Musician’s Hall of Fame and Museum. You won’t want to miss this spectacular event of food, fun and dancing! We’ll have tons of great auction items on the block, and season 5 American Idol finalist Melissa McGhee will be performing. Purchase your tickets by visiting our registration page here. We can always use auction items, so if you or someone you know can donate an item for our silent or live auction, please contact our site coordinator, Cayla at nashville@gigisplayhouse.org.

Finally, to end this post, we’d like to share some pictures of our families participating in our programs and enjoying the playhouse. If you haven’t had a chance to stop by and visit, please come out and see us, and learn more about everything we have to offer!

Stay warm!