Hello All

First of all let me apologize for taking so long to write this blog, a lot has happened in the past two months, and I will try to get it all into a few blogs over the next few weeks, I have a lot of people to thank!!! (it's also hard to sit on the computer with all the beautiful weather!)

So let's back track a bit...

It all started back on Sunday May 23, when I travelled to the small town of Windchester, Ontario to do a presentation for the Alzheimer's Society of Cornwall. The film played a the Old Town Hall, which is a beautiful old building and has a great old theatre where they hold plays and films. Even though the weather was beautiful and it was a long weekend, there was still about 20 people out for the screening.

Please contact the Alzheimer's Society of Cornwall at  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

On Tuesday May 25, Kim, Nathan and I were off to do my first ever presentation in the US. We were on a three day trip to Boston. About a month before I met Shannon Seitz, who's mother has Alzheimer's and is originally from Saskatchewan, but now lives and works in Boston. Shannon is an amazing person, she spends a lot of her free time raising money for the Alzheimer's Association of Boston by running marathons.

To donate to Shannon's upcoming run please go to http://2010teamr2r.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=333302

Shannon worked her but off to bring me and my family to Boston to present the film.

We stayed at a beautiful B&B near Fenway Park, and had a great three days exploring Boston. The film was screened on Wednesday May 26 at the Studio Cinema in Belmont.  

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118143138214444

There was a great turnout for the screening and again I want to thank Shannon for all her hard work, and I hope to do a lot more with her in the future!

Finally on May 31 in Montreal I presented the film at the CASWE conference (Canadian Association for social Work Education)

The presentation went really well with about 40 people and the Q&A session was great, because everyone in the audience was interested in the family relationships and how relationships change with the disease. I am always happy to meet different people with different backgrounds and experiences and see how the film effects them differently!!!

Thanks to sharon for inviting me to this great conference!

please check out http://www.caswe-acfts.ca/en/

Part two to come soon.....

Screenings of Forgetful Not Forgotten

Saturday June 5, 2010 – Windsor, Ontario

The Lumberjack Restaurant, Windsor – 6pm

Monday June 7, 2010 – Chatahm, Ontario
Active Lifestyles Centre, 20 Merritt Ave, Chatham – 6:30pm

Tuesday June 8, 2010 – Woodstock & Tilsonburg, Ontario
North Broadway Baptist Church, Tilsonburg -1pm
South Gate Centre, Woodstock – 7pm

Wednesday June 9, 2010 – Sarnia (Forest), Ontario
Kineto Theatre, Forrest – 7pm

Thursday June 10, 2010 – Clinton, Ontario
Betty Cardio Memorial Centre, Clinton – 7pm

Wednesday June 16, 2010 – Orangeville, Ontario
Westside Secondary School, Orangeville- 7pm

Thursday June 17, 2010 – Barrie, Ontario
Southshore Community Centre, Barrie – 7pm

Monday June 21, 2010 – London, Ontario
435 Windermere road, London -7pm

I will write about all my presentations when I get back home in two weeks

Alzheimer's Society of Sault Ste. Marie

The Kingsway Retirement Home in Etobicoke

The Alzheimer's Society of York Region

So I will be touring through southern Ontario in June at 9 different chapters with the Alzheimer's Society

I will be screening the film and talking about my experiences, and the DVD of the film will be available at each screening.

Please contact the Alzheimer's Society in your area for more info about the film.

Here are the dates and times!

Chris

Screenings of Forgetful Not Forgotten

Saturday June 5, 2010 – Windsor, Ontario

The Lumberjack Restaurant, Windsor – 6pm

Monday June 7, 2010 – Chatahm, Ontario
Active Lifestyles Centre, 20 Merritt Ave, Chatham – 6:30pm

Tuesday June 8, 2010 – Woodstock & Tilsonburg, Ontario
North Broadway Baptist Church, Tilsonburg -1pm
South Gate Centre, Woodstock – 7pm

Wednesday June 9, 2010 – Sarnia (Forest), Ontario
Kineto Theatre, Forrest – 7pm

Thursday June 10, 2010 – Clinton, Ontario
Betty Cardio Memorial Centre, Clinton – 7pm

Wednesday June 16, 2010 – Orangeville, Ontario
Westside Secondary School, Orangeville- 7pm

Thursday June 17, 2010 – Barrie, Ontario
Southshore Community Centre, Barrie – 7pm

Monday June 21, 2010 – London, Ontario
435 Windermere road, London -7pm

Please check out

http://www.alzheimer.sarnia.com/?q=events&autoid=106

Just a quick note to say Kim, Nathan and I are in Boston. There is a screening tonight of the film as part of a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Association of Boston! I will write after the presentation.

Please see the facebook page for more info: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118143138214444

Chris

Hello All,
This Sunday May 23 at 2pm I will be at the small town of Winchester to screen the film with the help of the Alzheimer's Society of Cornwall. Here is the info:

May 23, Forgetful Not Forgotten, a film by Chris Wynn. 2pm at the Winchester Old Town Hall.
Tickets are $10 at door or in advance (through the Alzheimer Society). Doors open at 1:30.
Come meet Chris Wynn.  Refereshments & DVDs available after screening.

Next week Kim and Nathan and I are heading to Boston. I will be screening the film in Boston on Wednesday May 26 with the Alzheimer's Association of Boston. Thanks Shannon for all you hard work!

For more info please visit http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=118143138214444

Chris

About a month ago I went out to lunch with Christina and Jacqueline, two women who are creating a great new organization in the Laurentians. The Laurentians Caregivers Association is a non-profit organization that is going to provide health & Social services to the English community located in the laurentians in Quebec. They look to establish a connection between the community demanding the services, a network of formal English speaking caregivers and health organizations. The organization will provide support to caregivers through education, workshops, respite, emotional support and guidelines. This is an organization that we’ve needed for a long time in the Laurentians. I can remember my mother going through some hard times because first of all it was hard to get the right help she needed up at the cottage and second it was even harder to get that help in English. I am happy to be a part of this new organization and I plan to help and promote them in anyway I can. The first way I intend to help them is to write about them on this site and try to get the word out as much as I can. As well I will use my film and the presentations I have been doing to again bring awareness to their cause. We are planning a screening of the film in Morin Heights sometime in early July, please check back here for more details when they become available.

Sault Ste. Marie

On March 25 & 26 I travelled to Sault Ste. Marie to do two presentations for the Alzheimer’s Society of  Sault Ste. Marie and Algoma District. This would be my first time going to SSM, I have travelled to Timmins a couple of times before and actually lived in Sudbury for a year when I attended Laurentian University back in 1991-92. The flight in on Air Canada Jazz was a bit bumpy but very scenic flying over the great lakes and eventually seeing SSM from the air. Unfortunately my stay was very short and I didn’t have time to explore. Kim, Nathan and I hope to go back soon to do a real visit maybe even in the summer time. My first presentation was at Korah Collegiate School, the theatre was great to screen the film with a great sound system and projector. There was about 30 who made it out for the screening and I thank them for making their way out on such a cold night.

My accommadations in SSM was at the Water Tower Inn. One of the original inns in SSM, and I was lucky that the next presentation was part of the full day conference which was being held at the inn. The conference was a full day of different experts and personal stories. The film was screened at the end of the day and again was well received. Again I wish I could have had more time to explore the city, sometimes I feel like a travelling musician hitting all the small towns for one night but never getting to explore! Thanks to Carolyn and all the girls at the Alzheimer’s Society for inviting me to the area!

http://www.alzheimeralgoma.org/

Kingsway Retirement Residence

The Kingsway Retirement Residence is located in Etobicoke. Back in the fall of 2009 I was contacted by Sarah at the residence about possibly coming to do a screening of the film. Up to now most of my presentations have almost all been through the Alzheimer’s Society of Ontario, Quebec and B.C. But it’s nice to come to other communities including residences to do these presentations. It amazes me how nice some of these retirement homes are. Even though I believe we need a lot more help for caregivers and their families, it’s nice to know that there are more and more beautiful residences being built to help with the elderly in our communities. I presented the film to a group of about 20 people at the Kingsway on April 9. Most people in attendance that night were people who were living there, but some of the community did come out, again thanks to Sarah and the Kingsway for inviting me. For the presentation I ended up travelling by train to Toronto and back, which I always try to do at least once a year, I love travelling by train.

York Region

On Saturday April 17, the 13^th Annual Awareness Breakfast, was held through the Alzheimer’s Society of York Region. The facility was the beautiful Oakview Terrace in Richmond hill. I had first met Andrea Ubell who is the Senior Manager of Programs and Client Services at the Alzheimer’s Society of York last spring when I was in Toronto interviewing different experts for our website. Andrea was a big help and you can see some videos of her on this site by going to the Ask and Expert section.

http://www.forgetfulnotforgotten.com/caring/ask-an-expert/support-groups

I had mentioned to her at the time that I was doing different presentations and she mentioned about their annual breakfast.  The event started at 9 am and the food was great, I was told that there was more then 100 people there and everyone was very excited about seeing the film. After the film I talked a bit about the process of making the film and then asked if there were any questions. Usually it takes the Q&A to get going, but this one was very short with only two questions which I thought was weird, but afterwards there were a few people who wanted to approach me and thank me for making the film and one man mentioned that there were no questions because the film had explained everything and nothing needed to be answered, which made me feel better about no questions.

Thanks to Trevor , Andrea and everyone at the Alzheimer’s Society of York Region.

http://www.alzheimer-york.com/13th-annual-alzheimers-awareness-breakfast

More screenings to come in May and June, and I am now working with a new organization called Laurentian Caregivers Association and Resources who are holding a meet and greet this weekend on May 2^nd at the Holy Trinity Church in Ste Agathe,

from 2-4pm, please check back here for more information about them as well as other screenings and projects and thanks to all the bloggers!!!!!

Here are some photos of my presentations in B.C.

Alzheimer's Society B.C. - Vancouver

Alzheimer's Society B.C. - Victoria

Alzheimer's Society B.C. - Courtney

Alzheimer's Society B.C. - Kelowna

Alzheimer's Society B.C. - Surrey

My good friend Tara came out to the Surrey presentation!

 

Beautiful British Columbia

 We are finally back from being away for a full month! Before heading to B.C., we took a two week vacation to Costa Rica for a friends wedding, which was great! On Feb 28 we flew from Costa Rica to Vancouver arriving the same time as the Closing Ceremonies for the winter Olympics, which was fine because the airport was empty! We were glad to have two relaxing weeks in the sun because we knew B.C. was going to be busy! The first thing was to do some press, I was interviewed on Global morning B.C. on Tuesday morning, and was interviewed by Grania Litwin for the Times Colonist newspaper in Victoria.

 

Vancouver

 My first presentation was in Vancouver on Wednesday Mar 3^rd at the Paetzold Education Centre, Vancouver General Hospital. The screening went very well and the turn out was about 75 people including my sister-in-law Krista, Kim & Nathan, and even some old friends Kim and Becky. I always try and sell copies of the film after each presentation, usually because people always want to buy them, but I never know how many I will sell. As well travelling around meant I could only take so many with me to B.C. I thought 50 would be enough, I was wrong! On the first night in Vancouver I sold 30!!! Thanks to everyone who came out that night and thanks to Kern and everyone at the Vancouver office!

 http://www.alzheimerbc.org/In-My-Community/Vancouver-Coastal.aspx

 

 

Victoria

 The next day Kim, Nate and I were off to the island. We caught the Horseshoe Bay ferry to Nanaimo then rented a car and headed down to Victoria. Kim was born and raised in Victoria, so needless to say we had a lot of people to visit. I also had more press lined up, I did a radio interview with The Eagle radio station in Courtney and the next morning I was interviewed for A-Channel Victoria, with MariBeth Burton, thanks for the story. The Victoria presentation was held on Saturday March 6^th at the Ross Place Retirement Community. The place was packed and they even told me they had to turn away 60 people who called to make a reservation!!!! I think there were close to 120 people, and again I was lucky to have some family come out. My cousin Kim and cousin Tory and her daughter Rachael came out for the screening. Again the film was well received and  like all the other presentations I made some new friends. Thanks Christin & Lori!

 http://www.alzheimerbc.org/In-My-Community/Vancouver-Island.aspx

 

 Courtney

 After a great weekend in Victoria visiting friends and family, we headed up Island to see even more family and my third presentation in Courtney/Comox. On Monday I was interviewed on the Bill Goode show on CKNW radio station which is the biggest talk show in the province. The screening was held at the Florence Filberg Centre on Monday March 8, again I was lucky to have family come out including my cousin Janet, my cousins Jill, Will & Jamie and even my dad’s older sister Mary, who have all been a great in supporting the film. Even though the venue was a bit small, the people we packed in, I think close to 100 people, including a couple who run a local film festival and might want the film for next year.

Thanks to Jane and everyone for their help!

 http://www.alzheimerbc.org/In-My-Community/Vancouver-Island.aspx

 

 

Kelowna

 The next morning we were up early and back on the ferry to Vancouver. We had a night off in North Van with Kim’s sister and family, then the next morning we were off for a long drive into the Okanagan Valley. Kim’s cousin Jenn and family live in Vernon, and my 4^th presentation was going to be in Kelowna. It was great to finally spend a couple of days at the same place and I love Vernon! The presentation was held on Thursday March 11^th at the Okanogan college in Kelowna. This was probably the biggest screening in B.C. The film was played in one of the classrooms and they were bringing in chairs from other classrooms because there were so many people. The question period afterwards went on forever, so many people we very engaged in finding out more about the disease. I was told that this was the biggest event that Alzheimer’s Kelowna had ever had. I am always glad to help out in anyway I can, and if me doing these presentations means I can get more families to come out and meet and connect with people at different chapters, then my job is done! I had to take orders of the DVD because I had run out! I just want to thank Philis and Melanie for their help!

 http://www.alzheimerbc.org/In-My-Community/Okanagan-Kootenay.aspx

 

 Surrey

 We spent a couple more days in Vernon, then we headed back to Vancouver for the last part of the “tour” and our vacation, I have to thank Nathan for being such a great traveller! Before the last presentation Kim’s sister Krista was volunteering for the Para Olympics and got us tickets for Wheel Chair Curling. After being in Costa Rica and missing most of the Olympics it was great to go to an event, thanks Krista, and Canada won as well. My last presentation was on Tuesday March 16^th in Surrey at the Czorny Centre, which was amazing to see, I will write another blog about the centre very soon.

The screening brought out about 60 people and even Tara a friend of mine from the website came out with a friend to the screening. Thanks to Rose!

 http://www.alzheimerbc.org/In-My-Community/Fraser-Valley.aspx

 

 B.C. ended up being a great trip and the presentations were very enjoyable and the people I met really touched me in different ways. Kim and Nathan and I hope to come back out west this summer and maybe I can re-contact with some of the great people I met along the way!

I will post some Photos soon!

Chris