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Activity Calendars

Below is current months activity calendars that shows all the activities available to residents, as well s events and more…

Brightmore of Wilmington

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The Kempton

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The Commons

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A Century of Dining at Wrightsville

January 25, 2016 Brightmore University held its 2^nd class, Up to Date with “A Century of Dining at Wrightsville”:1870-1970, presented by Elaine Hensen, a Wilmington historian. Elaine presented the history of Wrightsville Beach’s culinary past: where visitors have eaten, from the late 1880’s in hotels and guest houses, to the 1970’s in restaurants like The Marina, Faircloth’s, Crystal Pier and The Neptune. We learned that in the beginning, the 1800’s, you could not even reach Wrightsville Beach unless you traveled by boat, so if you said you were going to the beach you were actually going to the Wrightsville Sound Parks; Seaside Park or Pine Grove Park, and you got there by traveling on a “shell” road.  The steam engine began in 1888, and it would transport visitors from the river of downtown Wilmington to the sound of Wrightsville Beach. The most popular hotels and guesthouses to eat at in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s were the Oceanview Hotel (1892), the Seashore Hotel (1908-burned down in 1919 and rebuilt as the Blockade Runner in 1922), the Hotel Terrymore (1905 & remodeled in 1911 as the Oceanic Hotel) and several different Guesthouse Cottages, such as the famous Kitty House. An interesting fact about the hotels are that they had their own chicken yards in the back where they raised chickens to cook and serve for the meals; there was even a herd of cattle raised on Wrightsville Sound for their dairy needs. The Kitty House was in the news as the result of the 1934 Wrightsville Beach fire that burnt down over 100 homes, and the beach damage totaled $1,000,000. At that time many of our newer hotels and restaurants were built such as the Oceanic at Crystal Pier and King Neptune’s. Elaine gave us wonderful slideshow and presentation on the past!

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Healthy Eating Social at The Kempton

January 22, 2016

Many residents gathered in our Country Kitchen for the “Healthy Eating Social”; I think all our minds were thinking alike since the holidays and after eating all our holiday favorite foods we all over indulged in. Our residents were served vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, celery, snow peas, etc., along with some fresh fruits like watermelon, pineapple, …Read More…

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The Kempton Has 1st First Book Club Meeting

January 20, 2016

The Kempton at Brightmore of Wilmington had our first book club meeting, and it turned out wonderful; several of our residents gathered around our Country Kitchen table and received the first chapter from the Book, “The Bartered Bride” collection. The Activity Director, Jennifer Alaimo, read aloud as the residents listened and read along. The discussion following …Read More…

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The Commons Residents Make Snow Globes For Winter

January 18, 2016

Let it snow!   We might have not had any snow yet this year in Wilmington, however for some of the residents at The Commons that all changed.  We made our own personal snow globes.   Snow globes full of trees, snowmen, ice, and flowers now can have a beautiful snowfall with just a shake of the …Read More…

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Brightmore University: Cape Fear Chorale

January 16, 2016

This past Sunday, we kicked off our Spring Brightmore University Series with the Cape Fear Chorale Conducted by Jerry S. Cribbs. It was a beautiful concert that included the “Magnificat in D and Deetingen Te Deum” from their previous fall concert plus several patriotic songs that will be included in their spring performance that we …Read More…

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Brightmore Helps to Keep Military Families Connected!

January 14, 2016

Residents joined together to be a part of Brightmore’s 4th Annual Charity Bazaar Donation which was presented to Mary Heath with “HeartsApart.org”. Mary is the coordinator of over 100 volunteer photographers throughout 40 different states which supports local military families with photography. HeartsApart was founded in 2010, in NC and has over 300 submissions for …Read More…

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“A Piece of WWII History Found in an Attic for Nearly 70 Years”

January 6, 2016

Gigi Hickley, cousin of Brightmore Resident, Carol Doniere, and her husband, Bill Hickley, joined Brightmore on Saturday to share a very rare and special piece of WWII history and the story behind it. The story began in 1940, in Wessington Springs, South Dakota, when Gigi’s mother married Morris “Pete” Henrickson. In 1942, Pete enlisted into …Read More…

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New Year 2016 in true “Brightmore Style!”

January 4, 2016

Brightmore ended 2015 and rung in the New Year 2016 in true “Brightmore Style!” Brightmore residents celebrated early in the afternoon and had a Pre-New Year’s Eve Social combined with our monthly Newcomers’ Social on Thursday. Delicious festive appetizers were passed around as we listened to entertainment provided by one of our favorite guitar players, …Read More…

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Brightmore Independent Visits Mike’s Farm

December 29, 2015

On December 22, 2015, Brightmore residents took a trip to Mikes Farm, where they ate a delicious country style dinner, as well as rode a hayride through a beautiful light show in the woods. The rain didn’t stop us! The residents had an optimistic outlook on getting to Mikes Farm and riding the hayride even …Read More…

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Thalian Hall Presents “Mame”

December 11, 2015

The residents of Brightmore enjoyed an evening out at theater last night at Thalian Hall. We continued our holiday season watching the exceptional local talent in Broadways production of “Mame.” Everyone’s favorite Auntie is back…..Her wild, adventurous spirit is inside everyone who lives for the moment and believes that “life is a banquet!” It’s the …Read More…

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