A new group is providing a creative outlet for special needs adults in the Sarnia area.
Holly Wenning and other volunteers with Expressive Arts 21plus have been leading weekly rehearsals for an upcoming show, I Am Sunshine, a Celebration of Music and Dance, Jan. 27, 7 p.m., and Jan. 28, 2 p.m., at the Sarnia Library Auditorium.
“When I was getting ready to retire, I decided I wanted to do some kind of a program,” Wenning said.
She led a theater program in the past for children and youth at Pathways Health Center for Youth but noticed recently there wasn’t a performing arts outlet for special needs adults.
“I thought, ‘Well, they’ve all aged out – I’m going to create something,’ Wenning said.
The upcoming show is sponsored by the Down Syndrome Association of Lambton County and Redeemer Christian Reformed Church where rehearsals with a dozen cast members are being held.
The association helped Wenning connect with potential cast members, including several who were part of the program at Pathways when they were younger.
“We’re having a blast,” Wenning said.
“I love it,” said Helen Van Sligtenhorst with the association. “I’m so very happy our young adults get an opportunity to perform on stage, to express themselves, to be included in the community and to just sing and dance and do what they like to do.”
Cast member Zackery Visser said, “I just thought it would be nice to get together with people I’ve done the show with in the past.”
He was part of the arts program at Pathways a few years ago.
Visser said he was feeling “a bit nervous” about being back on stage but added it is “exciting at the same time.”
Wenning, who created and directs the show, said about 11 other women are helping get ready for the performances in January.
One cast member is in a wheelchair and a few others have difficulty with mobility but they’re “trying their hardest and doing an amazing job,” Wenning said.
“It’s going to be very moving,” she said.
There will be speakers and guest performers, including area musician Chris Molyneaux and his father, Wenning said.
“They’re going to do Here Comes the Sun from the Beatles.”
Wenning said she created the show around the theme of sunshine “and how much sunshine these young adults bring to everyone.”
Tickets to the show are $10 and are available at Harbor Bay Clothing on Front Street, and from cast members.