The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Show Biz Kidz share ‘Moments to Remember’ with seniors
An older couple gazed at each other and held hands while the Show Biz Kidz sang “Let Me Call You Sweetheart.”
Other audience members excitedly sang along to a variety of old songs performed by the group during a performance of “Moments to Remember” at Symphony of Mentor on Oct. 30.
“Moments to Remember” is the story of longtime friends who agree to get together once a month and catch up with each other and is just one of the many programs performed by the Show Biz Kidz.
During the program the friends go through the months of the year singing songs related to each month.
Show Biz Kidz is an allvolunteer senior group under the Lake Metroparks. The group has over 14 programs including a Christmas one, a Broadway memories one and another called “Spirit” which group member Doris Reik describes as a very patriotic program to honor veterans.
“We have programs that are silly,or funny. We have one that is a teenage singing program from the ‘60s,” said the Wickliffe resident. “Some of them are mostly singing while some are mostly skits. Some of them have loosely based skits that kind of tie the program together such as ‘Moments to Remember.’ “
The group members write their own programs which they feature in over 60 performances a year.
They visit a variety of senior assisted living homes, nursing home facilities and other places that like to have senior representation throughout Lake County.
They do not charge for their performances but do accept donations for the Lake Metroparks.
Reik does the scheduling and coordinating under Metroparks Recreation Supervisor Jim Meadows, and she describes the group members as seniors who are all young at heart.
“The purpose of the group is to help those that are senior and elderly and don’t really get a lot of entertainment in their lives,” Reik said. “We give them a little bit of cheer throughout the week through our program and give them something they would enjoy.”
Reik notes that music brings out different parts of the brain, and as people age it helps enhance the brain.
“We find that most of the people where we go will sing with us and some of them will just really enjoy being part of it however they can be,” she said.
Reik also believes that the performances benefit the volunteers as much if not more than the seniors they perform for.
“The volunteers are a great group,” she said. “They are very, very friendly and we really help each other and enjoy each others company. We really enjoy being with these residents with whom we do the programs for. We love it when they seem to enjoy us and we go talk with them afterwards and shake their hands and they interact with us a little bit.”
Reik, who has been involved with Show Biz Kidz since she retired in 2006, enjoys knowing that the group is helping people feel a little better. She also enjoys the people she performs with and describes them as really good friends.
Harry Mason of Mentor got involved with the group after receiving an invitation from one of the members on a dating site about three years ago.
Mason, who retired three years ago and lost his wife four years ago, decided he wasn’t doing anything. So, he went to check out a couple of their performances and decided he would like to join the group.
“I have had a lot of fun developing different programs and different songs,” Mason said. “A lot of the programs are older songs because most of the people that we perform in front of are elderly folks and we get them to sing along with us.”
Mason says he enjoys watching the people smile and sing.
“We know that a lot of them are shut-ins and can’t get out, so if we can make them happy and get them away from their everyday routine for just a little while than that makes me really happy,” Mason said.
Georgeanne Picu of Eastlake, who has been with the group for about 12 years, found out about it in the Lake Metroparks’ quarterly newsletter.
She thought to herself that might be for her because she was recently retired and likes to sing.
“I went to see them, and I had this big resume which they laughed at me for and said that’s not what we do,” Picu said. “What I enjoy about it is just getting out and meeting with people that need us.”
Picu believes that the group needs the audiences they perform for just as much as the seniors need them.
“We enjoy entertaining and they are very receptive to songs,” Picu said.
Jim Larkin, who describes himself as the unusual one, said he joined the group because his wife was a member but she couldn’t drive any distance.
Larkin says even though he doesn’t have the kind of voice for singing he still has fun with it. He has been with the group for approximately eight to nine years and enjoys the people on both sides.
“You see the smiles. If you’re kind of locked up in these places — as some of us would look at it — we would want to put a little fun in it. I think we brighten their day,” Larkin said.
“We get more out of it then we give.”
There is no website for the Show Biz Kidz, but additional information can found through Lake Metroparks.