PINEDALE – This fall, the Pinedale

Fine Arts Council debuted a new series

of community arts programming specifically

targeted to local seniors. The new

Elder Care Programs began in September

with “Firsts – An Evening of Stories by Seniors,”

where six local seniors on the Rendezvous

Pointe stage told long-form stories

to a crowd of more than 70 people.

In October, PFAC premiered its “Here

and Now” program – a cognitive-based art

class where 11 seniors and a handful of volunteers

gathered at the Sublette Center for

an afternoon of still-life painting.

Here and Now, which is instructed by

local artist and owner of Pinedale Art and

Craft Mae Orm, is designed to provide a

supportive environment for seniors and

their loved ones where they have a chance

to experience sensory and intellectual

stimulation, communicate through art and

explore various art media including paint,

clay, collage and printmaking.

While PFAC has hoped to expand its

community programming to target seniors

for years, it was receiving funding from

The Laura Jane Musser Fund, a nationwide

granting organization, which finally got the

ball rolling.

“PFAC has been providing free tickets to

Sublette Center and the Southwest Sublette

County Pioneer Center for years,” says Kari

DeWitt, PFAC director. “Seeing firsthand

the positive benefits those performances

have had on our senior population really got

us to thinking that there was a lot more we

could be doing for our elder population. To

be awarded a national grant from the Laura

Jane Musser Fund to launch these programs

is quite an honor.”

Established by the estate of Laura Jane

Musser of Little Falls, Minn., to continue

the personal philanthropy, which she practiced

in her lifetime, the Musser Grant is

a very competitive grant, something PFAC

knows all too well.

In addition to “Firsts” and “Here and

Now,” both of which are offered in Pinedale

and Big Piney, PFAC will be premiering

its third program “TimeSlips” this

spring. Tailored to seniors living with dementia,

“TimeSlips” uses visual art to open

storytelling to everyone by replacing the

pressure to remember with the freedom to

imagine.

For more information on PFAC’s new

Elder Care Programming, visit pinedalefinearts.

com.