The “entertainment spectacle of this century” is coming to the Moose Jaw area, as a musical therapist is touring seniors’ care homes to inspire happy memories in people with dementia.
Musician Mario Crevier — who performs under the “nom-de-play” of Elliott Barraclough — is bringing his 16-show Harvest Moon Equinox Tour to southwest Saskatchewan from Sept. 14 to 25. This is the second such tour he has conducted in this region, after he conducted a three-week tour in June 2023 while on vacation.
Crevier was born in Montreal in 1952 and lived in Moose Jaw from 1956 to 1969, while — until last summer — he had not returned to The Friendly City since 1975. He now lives in Toronto.
The musician can be found on YouTube under “Sing it if you know it with Elliott and Celeste.”
Crevier, 72, told MooseJawToday.com that his goal with his September tour is to inspire a grassroots movement in Saskatchewan that pushes governments to provide all seniors over age 65 with long-term care (LTC) beds should they require one.
He pointed out that more than 44,000 Ontario seniors are on a waiting list for an LTC bed, while no government has any strategy to address this situation since it requires money to construct new rooms. This situation is expected to worsen as Baby Boomers retire and dementia cases double over the next decade.
More seniors want to “age at home,” which means a nurse is expected to visit once a week, Crevier said. However, those seniors lack access to resources found in LTC, including musical shows that he and thousands of other Canadian artists offer.
After the success of his 2023 tour, Crevier decided to conduct a similar eight-show, seven-day program in Quebec in October, including stopping at a Montreal care home where his aunt lived. His uncle asked what he expected to accomplish by singing English songs to French people, to which he replied that most seniors knew Elvis Presley and could sing “la la la la la.”
“… it was fabulous. Even though they were Quebeckers, they knew every single song I sang … (and) they loved it even though they don’t speak English,” Crevier recalled, noting that he has been successful because he knows the songs older residents enjoy.
The musical therapist received a call this spring from a Moose Jaw LTC home that asked if he could perform on Mother’s Day. Even though he considered himself a “wandering minstrel,” he thought travelling west for one day was unrealistic.
The LTC home spokeswoman told him that the venue was struggling to find musicians to perform because only one of eight choirs had returned post-pandemic. Meanwhile, musicians with no knowledge of older music from the 1920s to 1940s were coming in and playing music by AC/DC or Led Zeppelin.
After hearing this, Crevier and his daughter, Celeste, 37, began recording one-minute music videos of him performing songs — such as It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, Tura Lura Lura, Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit-Bag, and Smile, Smile, Smile — in seniors’ residences with the residents’ singing.
Videos range from 12 minutes to over an hour and can be used as supplementary programming in seniors’ residences, for caregivers supporting age-in-place seniors, in adult day programs, by relatives visiting family members or during crisis interventions.
“It’s the music of their lives. Everybody knows music therapy is a great thing to do,” said Crevier. “But … how do we get the word out that if you can’t get into long-term care, you have access to the type of programming that is in long-term care?
“Our whole idea is to be the biggest show of the century … . The shows will be fabulous.”
Crevier’s tour schedule includes Avonlea on Saturday, Sept. 14, Moose Jaw’s Pioneer Village at 2 p.m. and Providence Place at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 15, Moose Jaw’s Mulberry Estates at 2 p.m. and a long-term care home at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 16, Ross Payant Nursing Home in Assiniboia at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 17, Foyer d’Youville in Gravelbourg at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18, and Foyer St. Joseph in Ponteix at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Crevier will also be at Wolf Willow Lodge at 2 p.m. in Eastend and in Shaunavon at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 20, in Maple Creek at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21 (fall equinox), Leader on Sunday, Sept. 22, Eatonia Oasis Living care home at 2 p.m. and Kindersley’s Caleb Manor at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 23, Outlook at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24 and Watrous at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25.
