Kara J Kemp

We are deeply honored to have collaborated on The Art of Unburdening with We Remember You, led by the incredible Lee Ann Hyatt, RN, BSN.

Join us May 7 at Walnut House as we share the culmination of this meaningful partnership.
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

Lee Ann Hyatt, founder and director of We Remember You, has dedicated her life to supporting family caregivers of those living with dementia. A Murfreesboro native, she returned home in 2018 after a long career in Houston focused on professional education in end-of-life and dementia care.

Through We Remember You, she has created a nonprofit that ensures caregivers never have to navigate the dementia journey alone, offering guidance, education, and support at no cost to families. Her work is rooted in compassion and deep understanding, and it has been the heartbeat behind this entire workshop series.

This Bloom Stage is the culmination of that work: a space where caregiving stories are honored, expressed, and witnessed through art.

We are so grateful for Lee Ann and the mission of We Remember You, and for the care they continue to extend into this community.

We’re so glad to welcome Theresa Alley to Bloom Stage for The Art of Unburdening on May 7 at Walnut House .

Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

Theresa has a gift for bringing people together around the things that matter most. As co-founder of Trellis & Vine Art Gallery in Smyrna, she has helped cultivate creative community in meaningful and lasting ways. For this project, she has been an integral part of the journey, hosting the Art of Unburdening workshops and curating the BitterSweet Exhibition, a moving showcase honoring both loss and love. Her work lives at the intersection of connection, creativity, and care, and making her presence in this Bloom Stage feel like a natural extension of the heart behind the entire series.

When Theresa is not building community, you’ll likely find her reading epic stories, sipping coffee with her husband, crafting with her kids, or adventuring with friends. She lives in Middle Tennessee with her husband Ben and their two children, and we are so grateful she’s part of this story with us.

This special event is the culmination of a workshop series presented by Rutherford Arts Alliance through the generous support of Tennessee Arts Commission and created in collaboration with We Remember You, centering stories of caregiving, memory, resilience, and the healing power of creative expression.

Join us this Thursday at Walnut House for an evening that holds it all, depth and lightheartedness, tenderness and laughter, and everything in between.

Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

Through storytelling, music, poetry, live art and more, The Art of Unburdening creates space for what we carry...and what we’re ready to release. This special Bloom Stage is the culmination of a workshop series presented by Rutherford Arts Alliance through a grant from Tennessee Arts Commission and created in collaboration with We Remember You, centering real stories of caregiving, resilience, and the healing power of creative expression.

Come listen.
Come feel.
Come be part of something honest, human, and shared.
Because none of us carry alone.

We’re honored to welcome Jeanmarie Hill to the Bloom Stage for the very first time with The Art of Unburdening on May 7 at Walnut House .
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

Jeanmarie is a hospice nurse and writer whose work is rooted in care, presence, and the deeply human moments that shape our lives. Currently part of the MTSUWrite program, she has been writing through her own experiences of caregiving and grief after supporting both of her in-laws. Her voice carries the kind of honesty and tenderness that sits right at the heart of this evening, stories that hold both love and loss, and the spaces in between. She lives in Middle Tennessee with her husband Joe, a lot of books, and.... by her own admission....way too many plants 🌿

Her presence in The Art of Unburdening is a beautiful reflection of what this show is all about: real stories, real care, and the courage to share what we carry. We are so glad to welcome her to the Bloom Stage.

This special event is the culmination of a workshop series presented by Rutherford Arts Alliance with support from the Tennessee Arts Commission and created in collaboration with We Remember You, centering stories of caregiving, memory, resilience, and the healing power of creative expression.

Bloom Stage returns on May 7 at Walnut House with our second show of the 2026 season: The Art of Unburdening.

This is an evening that makes space for what we carry.
A place to express.
A place to release.
A place to Bloom.

The Art of Unburdening brings together live music, visual art, storytelling, poetry, and performance to honor the deeply human experience of caregiving, especially dementia caregiving, through the voices of our own community.

Caregiving is an act of deep love, but it can also be isolating, exhausting, and emotionally overwhelming. For those caring for individuals living with dementia, the daily weight of responsibility can feel both invisible and relentless. This evening creates room for that truth…the joy, the grief, the humor, the tenderness, the frustration, and the resilience.

Presented in partnership with the Rutherford Arts Alliance, We Remember You, and Poetry in the Boro, this Bloom Stage gathers voices that remind us none of us carry alone. We will showcase some of the works created through a six month series in our community. Because sometimes healing begins simply by being witnessed.

Join us for an unforgettable night of connection, creativity, and community.
Express. Release. Bloom.
Walnut House
May 7, 2026

This series and performance are made possible in great part through the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission whose partnership helps bring this work and these stories to the public.

I’m honored to serve as co-producer, co-host, and teller for Bloom Stage: The Art of Unburdening on May 7 at Walnut House . Join us for an evening of storytelling, music, poetry, visual art, and shared humanity.

From an early age, I’ve used artistic expression to process grief and loss, learning to make meaning through story, creativity, and connection. Even the way I say my name (Care-uh) reflects that lifelong thread of care, listening, and holding space for others.
This work feels like a natural extension of that path for Bloom Stage’s collaboration with the Art of Unburdening workshop series. And I am all in for it!

I believe deeply in creativity as a bridge to connection. As a coach, curator of Wellness Weekend retreats and Adult Summer Camp in Historic Rugby, former Murfreesboro Performing Arts Laureate and also serving part-time with ECCHO Live supporting live event professionals....I take care seriously and balance it with a decent dose of humor.

This Bloom Stage is the culmination of a workshop series created in collaboration with We Remember You, centered on caregiving, memory, resilience, and the healing power of creative expression. At its heart, this evening is about making space for what we carry, and transforming it through expression and community.

Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

It is made possible in great part through the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Rutherford Arts Alliance, whose partnership helps bring this work and these stories to the public.

We’re so proud to celebrate our co-producer, co-host, and featured voice for The Art of Unburdening....the wonderful Kory Wells Kory Wells, Author .

Join us May 7 at Walnut House for an evening of storytelling, music, poetry, and connection.
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

Kory nurtures community through numerous writing and arts initiatives, including Poetry in the Boro, Bloom Stage, and the Rutherford Arts Alliance. She is the author of SUGAR FIX, poetry from Terrapin Books, and has a new book of poetry AND award-winning nonfiction coming out next year called THE BODY SHELTERS IN SONG. She served as the inaugural poet laureate of Murfreesboro, but she’s even more gratified that some of you call her your poetry mama and the creative mayor of Murfreesboro.

We are so grateful to create alongside her.

This special Bloom Stage is the culmination of a workshop series created in collaboration with We Remember You, centering stories of caregiving, memory, resilience, and the healing power of creative expression.

This series and performance are made possible in great part through the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Rutherford Arts Alliance, whose partnership helps bring this work and these stories to the public.

We’re so excited to welcome the incredible LeeAnn Love to Bloom Stage for The Art of Unburdening on Thursday, May 7 at Walnut House .
Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.

LeeAnn is an ecological landscape artist, arts educator, and Board-Certified Art Therapist whose work beautifully blends art, science, and healing. Through painting, printmaking, and natural pigment exploration, her creative practice explores heritage, belonging, sustainability, and our relationship with the natural world. Her work lives at the intersection of earth honoring, storytelling, and emotional connection.

With degrees in Biology, Art, and Expressive Therapies, LeeAnn brings both heart and depth to everything she creates. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, served as a community muralist and art therapy educator, and continues to facilitate healing-centered art workshops for adults in mental health and addiction recovery.

Her presence in The Art of Unburdening brings exactly what this evening is about: reflection, restoration, and the quiet power of creativity to help us carry what words sometimes cannot. And honestly… anyone who spends free time investigating bark beetle markings and throwing dance parties with nephews already feels like Bloom Stage family!

Please come hear her story and see her visual art at the next Bloom Stage

This series and performance are made possible in great part through the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Rutherford Arts Alliance, whose partnership helps bring this work and these stories to the public.

IYKYK
I'm only posting this reminder today-
5 spots left for lodging passes.

We’re so honored to welcome for the first time Julie Sumner to the Bloom Stage for The Art of Unburdening on May 7 at Walnut House .

This special Bloom Stage is the culmination of a workshop series created in collaboration with We Remember You, centering stories of caregiving, memory, resilience, and the healing power of creative expression.

Julie is a writer who has worked as a critical care nurse, liver transplant
coordinator, and massage therapist. She now teaches creative writing, focusing on
reading poetry and writing as ways to develop resilience. Her poems and book reviews have appeared in Trampoline Poetry, The Windhover, Delta Poetry Review, The Intima, and elsewhere. Her chapbook, Meridian, was chosen by poet Jane Hirshfield as the winner of the 2023 Wildhouse Poetry Prize. She writes on Substack at .

Julie brings to this Bloom Stage exactly what The Art of Unburdening is meant to hold: tenderness, reflection, healing, and the reminder that words can help us survive, connect, and begin again. We are so honored to welcome her voice to this evening.

This series and performance are made possible in great part through the support of the Tennessee Arts Commission and the Rutherford Arts Alliance, whose partnership helps bring this work and these stories to the public.

Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.
Admission is free, though donations are always appreciated.