As the grant writer for the Celebration Foundation, I always enjoy getting to see our programs in action. This past month, I was invited to join Thriving In Place on their excursion to WonderWorks to see the “Outta Control Magic Comedy Dinner Show.” This was my first visit to WonderWorks and I have to say, the architecture and design of the building is even more impressive in person.
Inside the show, long tables are set up, similar to sitting in a large dining room. Salad, pizza, cake, drinks, and alcohol were included with our ticket price. I was surprised at how affordable tickets were because of our group discount.
The magician/comedian was great, making sure to keep the audience engaged at all times. At one point, one of the members of our group, along with several other audience members, were asked to pick and card and remember it. The magician successfully guessed everyone’s cards, along with throwing in a few jokes at the audience members’ expense (they were all lighthearted, I promise). Later in the show, another one of our group members was invited on stage to pick a restaurant she was going to have dinner at, how much money she would spend there, and what celebrity she would be having dinner with. Meanwhile, another audience member held an envelope that was handed to him at the beginning of the show. After the restaurant, price, and celebrity were picked, the magician took back the envelope and opened it to reveal a large piece of paper that had written on it the exact restaurant, price, and celebrity that our member had chosen. Needless to say, not only was that the highlight of the show, but that was also the highlight of our group’s evening.
Personally, I enjoyed seeing the friendship among Thriving In Place members. With loneliness on the rise these days, it’s nice to see a group of neighbors coming together to have a good time.
Thriving In Place is a community-based membership program under the umbrella of the Celebration Foundation. Our members are Celebration residents who are at least 55 years of age, or a person with a disability of any age, who want to stay in their own homes and lead a healthy, safe, independent and productive life. For questions regarding Thriving In Place, please call Rachel McIntee at 407-572-9850, e-mail Thriving@celebrationfoundation.org, or visit the office at 690 Celebration Avenue.
By Breanne O’Leary
The above article appears in the September 2019 edition of the Celebration News