HONK IF YOU CARE.

HONK IF YOU CARE. The big red plastic nose on “Densmore the Clown” (aka Denise Wilson) begs to be honked. Just as much as her broadly painted smile seeks reciprocation. The 73-year-old resident of Eskaton Village Carmichael (a continuing care community in Northern California) has been clowning around for three decades, with appearances scheduled for some time to come.

“My focus now is mostly on entertaining developmentally disabled adults and participants in Alzheimer’s adult day centers,” Wilson explains. She earned the official “caring clown” recognition by completing an intensive training program at a prestigious Canadian clown camp. Though she’s well-versed in parades and parties, and balloon animals and ukulele sing-alongs, she says she experiences the greatest satisfaction with her craft when witnessing the therapeutic benefits of humor and laughter.