Washington will be painted purple this weekend and all next week in recognition of Alzheimer’s Disease and Brain Awareness Month.

Currently, more than 64,000 Iowans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, which is the most common type of dementia. It is a progressive disease that impairs memory, language, thought and eventually daily activities. Each year on June 21st, the summer solstice, people are encouraged to raise funds for Alzheimer’s research. Don Kline shares why the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, was selected for this recognition of Alzheimer’s, “As a caregiver you’re going to be care giving the whole day, all day long, day after day. And so, it becomes the longest day, and it’s just a nice way to emphasize that type of thing that’s happening to you because the 21st happens to be the solstice.” Kline cares for his wife who has Alzheimer’s. Businesses in Washington will have windows painted purple next week for the recognition by the Alzheimer’s Association.