Bracebridge artist Kimberly Rideout gifted a custom mural to the Alzheimer Society of Muskoka this week, marking the fourth time she’s donated her painting skills to a local organization.
Rideout revealed the mural, painted in the program room of the Alzheimer Society’s Bracebridge office, on the morning of Feb. 19. The artwork depicts a calm nature scene with a winding path and a small brook cascading through the centre, all surrounded by birch trees. The board of directors and staff from the Alzheimer Society joined caregivers and clients for the reveal. Rideout was initially nervous about the turnout since snow slowed down many attendees, but she was soon overwhelmed with emotion after seeing more than 30 people show up.
“I know that they do incredible work for families who are affected by this very unfortunate disease that does so much negative,” Rideout said. “It’s great that there’s a place like the Alzheimer Society that has resources available for people. I just wanted to be able to do something that they appreciated and is a nice way to give back to them for everything that they do.”
Rideout knows the impact of their work firsthand after navigating Alzheimer’s with her late father. The Alzheimer Society was instrumental in her father’s care, providing resources for him and for her mother as a caregiver. Her mother also met one of her best friends through a support group at the society.
Rideout’s husband Paul Chivers experienced the disease up close as well, caring for his mother with Alzheimer’s up until she died in 2024. Rideout originally felt inspired to donate murals after going through cancer treatment, so when she felt the itch to gift her next mural, donating in honour of another complex health issue so close to her family felt right.
“If you look closely, there’s a tiny monarch butterfly on one end that represents Paul’s mum, and there’s a monarch butterfly on the other end that represents my dad,” she said. “Then in the centre of the mural, there are tiny little blue flowers. Those are actually the Forget-Me-Not flowers that are the symbol of the Alzheimer Society, so I wanted to incorporate that into the mural as well.”
The team at the Alzheimer Society gave her free reign to paint whatever she wanted. She aimed to make a scene that wasn’t too busy or distracting while also making the large cabinet in the centre of the wall blend in. She landed on a peaceful scene that prominently features a familiar sight in Muskoka: beautiful birch trees.
For her mural at the Pines Long-Term Care Home, she helped bring the outside in by using actual birch trees cut in half to add texture and dimension. Due to the massive snowfall this winter, that wasn’t an option.
“I couldn’t get at any of the actual birch trees that we have, or birch branches, but I still wanted to bring that element of three-dimensional into the scene, just to sort of make it that much more lifelike,” she said. “I sent a message to Quinn at Home Depot and said, ‘I have an idea.’”
Home Depot manager Quinn Spencer has been a longtime supporter of Rideout’s work, regularly donating materials for her to use in her gifted pieces. This time was no exception as he provided lumber and other materials for Rideout to craft her trees. He attended the reveal as well.
In just three days, Rideout painted the entire scene alongside constructing birch trees out of wood, plaster and drywall tape. It was an ambitious project given the short timeframe, but the stunned reaction of the people at the reveal attests to her success.
Rideout was originally supposed to do the mural in early December, but she ended up getting snowed in for five days without power. Snow nearly stopped her again this week, but between a few hikes in the snow and some helpful neighbours plowing her out, she was able to make it work. It was a labour of love in more ways than one, but Rideout said the feedback at the reveal made it well worth the effort.
Fresh off this painting, Rideout is ready to keep going. She already has plans for another mural donation in June. Though she was already familiar with the great work the Alzheimer Society does, working on the piece showed her just how involved they are in engaging with the community and helping people who need it. She and her husband intend to continue being a part of it.
“We actually plan to sign up to be volunteers there going forward,” she said. “We would like to be even more involved and continue on with the Alzheimer Society there and help them in whatever way we can as volunteers.”
Norma Alford, executive director of the Alzheimer Society of Muskoka, said it was an incredible honour to be gifted such a gorgeous mural. She was immediately struck with a sense of peace and calm when she saw it.
“For our clients and our persons living with dementia to have Kimberly come in and paint this beautiful mural, it takes away the white clinical feel,” Alford said. “It really supports that care for dementia and support for people living with dementia and their caregivers can be provided in community.”
After the crowd’s initial awe, people were quickly drawn in by the three-dimensional elements of the painting. It was rewarding for Alford to see the different ways each person interacted with the beauty, colour and texture of the piece.
The mural is inside the Alzheimer Society’s new office on Manitoba Street. They opened at the end of last month after transitioning from their previous location on Ecclestone Drive, giving them space to expand their services. The program room that houses the mural is where they host caregiver support groups, social events like their weekly coffee meetup, and more.
“Our goal has always been to expand our own program but also to open the space to community partners and other individuals,” she said. “Having this mural and beautifying the space is going to be incredible for us to be able to utilize this even more.”
The sense of nature and bringing the outside world inside is fantastic for clients and staff alike, Alford said. It reflects Rideout and the community at the Alzheimer Society perfectly, and it meant a lot to Alford to hear Rideout’s personal connection to the cause.
She said Rideout is a fantastic person and artist who puts her heart and soul into each of her paintings. Her dedication to coming in, despite getting so much snow, and the people who stepped up to assist her are a testament to the Muskoka spirit and Rideout’s character.
“She’s just a beautiful person, and she’s really captured the spirit of what we do,” Alford said. “It was just a great honor to memorialize her family connection and to have her support what we do in the community and give back to our clients and the people we serve.”
The Alzheimer Society of Muskoka serves the entire Muskoka region as well as Parry Sound. Their team is active in the community to help people with dementia and their families navigate the difficult journey that accompanies a dementia diagnosis. They provide a wide range of services from music and recreation programs to education and medical resources.
It’s a disease that puts a great burden on both the people living with it and their caregivers, so they aim to ease that burden through advocacy and support for ongoing care and research. Alford welcomes members of the public to visit their office to see the mural and learn more about their services.
“Our numbers are increasing, and our goal is to support caregivers and persons living with dementia to live in community, to have the supports they need, and to live with dignity and feel that they are part of family and community and they aren’t left behind,” Alford said. “That’s really what we stand for.”
To learn more about the Alzheimer Society of Muskoka, visit its website. Visit the Alzheimer Society’s Facebook page to see a video of the reveal.
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