Intergenerational Idols is Denver’s answer to television’s “American Idol.” Without the dramaor Simon Cowell’s tart tongue.
This benefit for Bessie’s Hope is a talent showcase for performers of all ages, and the acts this year ranged from a tap-dancing troupe whose members reside in the Windsor Gardens retirement community to a couple of youngsters, Sophie Johnson- Grimes and Gus Freebern, whose singing voices are so powerful that both seem destined for careers on the Broadway stage.
“We don’t pick them just because they’re old or very young,” explains Linda Holloway. “We pick them because they’re good.” Holloway started Bessie’s Hope, formerly known as Rainbow Bridge, with Sharron Brandrup and Marge Utne as a living memorial to her grandmother, Bessie Stephens.
Its mission is to enhance the quality of life for nursing- home and assisted living residents who have no regular visitors; many of the Bessie’s Hope-sponsored visitors are students whose own lives are affected by unstable homes and poverty. “Everyone benefits,” Holloway says. “Everyone gains something.”
The show was presented during a dinner and auction that was chaired by Frances Owens, LaFawn Biddle and Adam Angelich, emceed by Stephanie Riggs and held at the Marriott Denver Tech Center.
The guests represented all age groups, too, and included 91-year-old Lt. Col. Robert Hodges, a World War II fighter pilot; Scott Coors; Tom Lorz; Jim Rhye; Jack and Adrienne Fitzgibbons; Nancy Markham Bugbee; Al and Jamie Angelich; Scott and Louise Richardson; Louis and Ginny Messina; and Greg and Julia Peay. They brought their 165-pound Newfoundland, Misha, who accompanies Julia on her visits to hospitals and nursing homes.
Joanne Davidson: 303-809-1314 or jdavidson@denverpost.com; also, davidson and GetItWrite on Twitter
