Memory care facility in Brookfield brings livestock and music to residents with second annual county fair

 

BROOKFIELD, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A local memory care home is bringing the county fair right to its facility for those living there. 

Lakewood Assisted Living and Memory Care hosted its second annual county fair. 

They filled the yard with livestock for the residents to pet and interact with, plus music, fair foods and games.. 

Everyone at Lakewood has some level of memory loss, and spending time around animals has been proven to help those with memory loss. 

Residents, like Sharon, lit up when they held the ducks and rubbed their fingers through the soft alpacas. 

Not all of the animals were soft. 

"Isn't he cute?" Sharon's great granddaughter asked. "Isn't he stiff?" She replied.

The residents also spent time with their families at the fair. Sharon had three generations there. Her daughter, her grand-daughter and her great granddaughter.

"I used to have turtles when I was a kid," said Sharon petting a turtle. "Even when my kids were little we had turtles." 

Those type of memories are exactly what Dana Leair, the community development director at Lakewood, is hoping to stir up. 

"We're really hoping that this is going to spark some great memories and encourage a lot of good stories from our families and our residents," said Leair. "Just that Nostalgic county fair feel."