Care Home Open Day

Care Home Open Day 2019

Celebrating the Arts in style

Every year, care homes across the country open their doors to the public for National Care Home Open Day, a fun and relaxed event that helps to showcase what goes on in the UK’s many fantastic care homes. 

In 2019, the event took the theme of ‘Celebrating Arts in Care’, and over 100 Care UK homes across the country opened their doors to celebrate the day in their unique way. Some even made a weekend of it with different artistic events taking place across three days. 

How did we celebrate?

There’s a lot of creativity in Care UK care homes. Our teams support residents to express themselves through everything from painting to poetry writing, drama to music making. 

Care UK challenged all its homes to produce special artworks for Care Home Open Day, and these were exhibited throughout the homes. Each home went so much further too, with everything from pottery classes to professional acting performances – plus plenty of fun, games and delicious food and drink!

In Suffolk, residents and friends of Cleves Place in Haverhill made the fun last all weekend, with music therapy on the Friday, arts and crafts and a flower arranging workshop on the Saturday, and a barbecue and art exhibition on Sunday. 

In Surrey, the team at Appleby House unveiled the results of their ambitious ‘pillars of the community’ project, with five impressive all-weather pillars put together by residents and local schoolchildren from designs supplied by 30 different community stakeholders, from police to paramedics. 

At Ferndown Manor in Dorset there was beach-themed summer hat and bunting making, accompanied by summer holiday music from a DJ. The Potteries in Poole took inspiration from the home’s name, with a Poole Pottery talk, exhibition and sale, and arts and crafts sessions inspired by the famous pottery.

In Edinburgh, visitors to Lauder Lodge created their own jewellery during a special workshop, and the team at Cairdean House ensured there was fun for all the family, with games, face painting and a bouncy castle. 

Creative at every age

A host of intergenerational art activities took place across our homes to showcase the great relationships we have with local schools and nurseries. At Winchcombe Place in Newbury, residents unveiled a mosaic artwork they’d created with local schoolchildren. 

Music played a big part in the day too, with everything from 1940s music at Cavell Court to jazz at Charlotte House, ‘Woodstock’ at Colne View and classical at Echelforde.

Our doors are open every day

Care Home Open Day is a great way to see our homes in action, but we’re always here, 365 days of the year. If you’d like to know more about how Care UK can help you to care for an older loved one, simply contact your local Care UK home to arrange a tour at a time that suits you.  

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