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HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM OLLI!
As we approach the end of the year, we want to take this moment to thank each and every one of you. OLLI is built on our membership, and we appreciate you being with us. We wish you a very happy holidays, no matter which ones you celebrate! The OLLI office is closed for Winter Break and will reopen on Tuesday, January 3. You can find out more about OLLI online any time!
Bare trees and snowy ground with the sun just above the horizon
Winter Solstice
Yesterday, December 21, was the winter solstice. We’ll see just a little more daylight every day from now until the summer solstice in June. The longest night of darkness and the return of the light have inspired celebrations all across the world.

Hanukkah
The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem in 164 BCE. Hanukkah is an eight-day holiday that this year began at sundown on December 18 and ends on sundown on December 26. Hanukkah traditions include lighting the menorah, playing dreidel, and eating fried foods like latkes (a type of potato pancake) and sufganiyot (jelly donuts).

Christmas
The Christian holiday of Christmas, celebrated each year on December 25, commemorates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. Christmas traditions include attending church services at midnight on Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning, exchanging gifts, and decorating a Christmas tree.

Kwanzaa
The holiday of Kwanzaa, December 26 to January 1, is a celebration of African-American culture created in 1966 by activist Maulana Karenga. Kwanzaa traditions include lighting candles to honor each of the seven principles, festive meals, and libations.
Fireworks against a dark sky
New Year
January 1 is the first day of the year on the Gregorian calendar. The calendar was first introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII and has spread across the world in the centuries since then, with Saudi Arabia most recently adopting it for civil purposes in 2016. New Year traditions include staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve to ring in the new year and committing to New Year’s resolutions.
SPRING AHEAD
The end of the year also brings about the beginning of a new year, and with the new year comes the new Spring term.

We hope you’re looking forward to the Spring term as much as we are! We have over 90 classes to choose from in the classroom, outdoors, and online. You can learn what it means to serve on a nonprofit board, discuss gardening amidst climate change on the West Coast, and tour the Chico State University Farm – and much, much more.

Our spring term officially starts on February 6, but you can get in on learning early by registering now for one of our early starting classes.

Be sure to join us for our class previews to learn more about our spring schedule. Both events are open to the public. Bring your friends!
Virtual Class Preview
Wednesday, January 11
10:30-11:30am

Zoom link to be provided closer to the event
In-Person Class Preview
Thursday, January 12
10:30am-Noon

Proof of vaccination is required for all in-person events. Click here for instructions.
VALLEY'S EDGE ZOOM FORUM
Those of you following the development of OLLI sponsor Valley's Edge know it went before the Chico Planning Commission on December 1. At that meeting, people spoke out in favor and against the development – including several OLLI members on both sides. Ultimately, the Commission voted 5-2 to send Valley's Edge on to the City Council for acceptance of the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) and approval of the Valley’s Edge Specific Plan. The Chico City Council will vote on the issue on January 3, 2023.

With so many OLLI members involved in the conversation, we have invited Valley's Edge developer Bill Brouhard and his team to host a Q&A session about the issues – exclusively for OLLI members. Given this busy time of year, when so many are traveling, the meeting will be on Zoom.

Wednesday, December 28, 3-4pm
Meeting ID: 880 1949 1200
Password: 837462
MEMBER BENEFIT: INTERSESSION SPEAKER SERIES
Only Hope book cover
The Community Speaker Series features discussions with students, faculty, and friends of OLLI on ideas, innovative work, and timely topics. These events bring a diverse group of speakers who will inspire, excite, and challenge the community with fresh ideas and perspectives on education, social issues, the arts, and our environment.

On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27, 3-4:30pm, Irv Lubliner, professor emeritus at Southern Oregon University (SOU), will share excerpts from Only Hope: A Survivor's Stories of the Holocaust.

Before she passed away in 1974, Felicia Bornstein Lubliner wrote about her internment in Polish ghettos and two Nazi concentration camps, Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen. Her son, Irv, sheds light on his mother’s experiences and indomitable spirit, as well as his experience as a child of Holocaust survivors and his process in bringing the book to fruition. This is followed by a Q&A session.

Irv Lubliner teaches math, music, and literature classes for the OLLI program at Southern Oregon University, where he has also served on the Council of Directors. Specializing in mathematics education, he taught for 40 years and led seminars for math teachers in 39 states. In 2019, he created Felabra Press and published his mother's writing about her experiences during the Holocaust, the book that will serve as the theme for this presentation.

Free and open to the public! Check the OLLI website the day of the event for the Zoom link.
CONTINUE YOUR EDUCATION OVERSEAS WITH OLLI
Shades of Ireland – A fully-guided, in-person tour, Fall '23
OLLI is expanding its programming to include more day trips, as well as our first overseas adventure!

Experience the “Emerald Isle” with seasoned tour guides from Collette, a favorite touring company of other OLLIs in the national Osher network. From breathtaking nature and stunning coasts to a captivating culture and friendly locals, this OLLI-exclusive experience promises a memorable journey in the company of friends.

View the Shades of Ireland full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

Save the date! A representative from Collette will visit us on January 24 to talk about the trip and answer questions – in person and online.
TRAVEL CLOSER TO HOME WITH DAY TRIPS
In partnership with Chico Area Recreation & Park District (CARD) and Capay Rancho Women’s Club, OLLI is offering a series of day trips! Visit the Trips and Tours page on our website to see all of the upcoming trips.
The Simon & Garfunkel Story – Redding
The Simon & Garfunkel Story is told through a full band and state-of-the-art video projection and lighting at The Cascade Theater. Join us for an evening of good music and fun. Appetizers will be served on the ride to Redding; you bring your own beverages.

Tuesday, January 17, 5-11pm
Members and Non-members welcome!
Hairspray – A Broadway Sacramento Musical
You Can’t Stop the Beat! Hairspray, Broadway’s Tony Award-winning musical comedy phenomenon is back on tour! Join 16-year-old Tracy Turnblad in 1960’s Baltimore as she sets out to dance her way onto TV’s most popular show. Can a girl with big dreams (and even bigger hair) change the world? Trip includes ticket to the matinee performance and transportation. No host lunch in Old Sac before the performance.

Tuesday, March 16, 8am-6pm
Members and Non-members welcome!
OVERHEARD AT OLLI
Official Presidential Portrait of Abraham Lincoln
Charles Copeland has become a devotee of thoughtful conversation as designed and practiced by the University of Chicago and St. John's College. This fall, he brought the learning through conversation practice to OLLI with his "Lincoln on Democracy" class.

"Years ago, a student who worked with me said our classes had the quality of 'teachlearnality,'" said Robin Dizard, who joined the "Lincoln on Democracy" class. "That is what Charles achieves: people in the class pay close attention to one another. As a result, the more retiring people speak up, get recognition and praise, then so do the bolder ones."

You can join Charles this spring when he brings the learning through conversation practice to bear on John Locke: Our First Founding Father.
SCIENCE FICTION BOOK GROUP TRAVELS TO MARS
360-degree selfie taken by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover
Sydney Wilde once dreamed of becoming the first woman on Mars. While she hasn’t made it to space, she has used that love of science and science fiction to lead the Science Fiction Book Group.

This upcoming spring, Sydney will get to revisit her dream of going to Mars as the book group reads two trilogies about Mars: Ben Bova's Mars, Return to Mars, and Mars Life; and Kim Stanley Robertson's Red Mars, Green Mars, and Blue Mars.

If you’d like to travel to Mars with the rest of the book group, you can sign up for the class when registration opens on January 19.

Pictured: A 360-degree selfie taken by NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover. Photo from NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS.
PLAY FESTIVAL DEADLINES APPROACHING
An OLLI Spring 22 Play Festival play projected on a screen at the screening
The 2023 Online Play Festival will take place in March, with plans for an in-person festival in June. Plays are written, directed, and acted by OLLI members. Mark these dates:

Zoom Plays Due: January 6

Zoom Auditions: January 23-24

For more information, including submission guidelines, please contact Debbie Vermette at dvermette@csuchico.edu.

Pictured: A screening of Space Travel 2030, Spring '22.
OLLI CALENDAR
Dec. 19 - Jan. 2
January 11
January 12
January 19
January 27
February 6
Winter Break (OLLI Closed)
Live-Online Spring Class Preview
In-Person Spring Class Preview
Spring Class Registration Opens
Community Speaker Series
First Day of Spring Classes
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