December 2025 Having trouble viewing this page? Click here to open as a Webpage.

As we look forward to celebrating the new year and ringing in 2026, we'd like to take a moment to look back and appreciate the wonderful year OLLI has had! We are so grateful for each and every one of you and what you bring to OLLI. Our members are the heart of our program, and your enthusiasm and passion for learning is most definitely contagious.

We hope you have a fantastic New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The OLLI office will be open 9am-2pm on December 31 and have special Friday office hours 9am-2pm on January 2. We will resume regular office hours on Monday, January 5.

The Bradley 2 Art Gallery will feature OLLI members' art during the winter and spring terms. The Gallery Team invites our artistic community of members to contribute their work (painting, collage, photography, textiles, fabric art, etc.) to this jury-free exhibit on the theme of The Wonders of Nature.

Submit your artwork with the entry form (pdf).

Art Drop-Off: January 5-6

Exhibit: January 12-June 26

Opening Reception: January 25

Art Pickup: June 30-July 1

Email Margaret Rader at mwrader13@gmail.com with any questions about the gallery.

Pictured: Original Wildflowers by Donna Sandberg.

The winter term starts January 5 and we're excited for the learning to begin! With over 100 classes covering a wide range of topics, there is something for every learner this season. Don't forget to check out the Newly Added Classes for shared classes from other OLLIs and other classes added after our catalog was printed.

We are thrilled by how many of you have already registered for classes! Some of our most popular classes are full with waiting lists. If you want to drop a class, please contact us at olli@csuchico.edu or 530-898-6679 so we can offer the space to someone else.

Pictured: Mary Sweeney teaching a tap dance class. Photo by Jason Halley/Chico State.

Are you finalizing your year-end giving? Consider including OLLI in your giving plans. Your donations support scholarships for members with limited means, enhance classroom technology, and help create welcoming spaces where curiosity and connection thrive.

All donations, large and small, one-time gifts and sustaining support, impact the OLLI of today and help ensure its future.

Linda Galvan, pictured, retired from a "bean counter" position at Chico State Enterprises during the pandemic, but she has now returned to a part-time role tracking grants and contracts for research done at the University. Since she became an OLLI member in 2023, she’s managed to enroll in several OLLI classes.

From astronomy to collage, with detours through national parks, the anthropology museum, hiking, and drawing classes, she's sampled much of what OLLI has to offer. Online, recorded classes are one of her favorite forms, because if she misses a lecture she can catch up later. A recent problem with her kitchen means she's currently in an Airbnb and has time to revisit sessions she missed.

Creating quirky and wry art resulted in a work she displayed during an OLLI art show. She attached various used office products to a canvas and called the resulting piece Office Wasteland.

Linda loves to talk to people she meets about OLLI – in fact, she'd be interested in helping out at the OLLI table at the Farmers' Market. She’s also toying with the idea of creating a class on soap making or lotions. She considers all of that possible in the new year – once her kitchen has been reassembled.

As a member, you have the opportunity to not just take classes from OLLI at Chico State, but also selected classes offered by other OLLIs. This winter, we have over 20 Zoom classes shared with us from the OLLIs at Arizona State University, Rochester Institute of Technology, and University of Arizona.

Here are just a few of the shared learning opportunities this winter:

• If you love movies, join Hitchcock expert Jay Sherwin for The Best of Alfred Hitchcock, Part 3 or movie music aficionado Michael Agron for Hooray for Hollywood Musicals: From Astaire to Hamilton.
• Listen to six lectures about photos and photography in Art Talks! Great Shots in Photography.
• Spend ten weeks exploring America's National Parks: Legacy Under Crisis.
• Learn about The Bridge on the River Kwai: The Real Story in a one-session class.
• Enjoy slow and gentle movement with Chen Village Tai Chi Basics.

Find these classes, and all of the other classes other OLLIs are sharing with us, on our OLLI USA page and register now.

The OLLI Play Festival will be back in April with more laugh-out-loud plays, written, directed, and acted entirely by OLLI members. Come join the fun!

Mark your calendars for the following dates:

Plays due: January 23

Auditions: February 26-27

Rehearsals: March 9-April 15

Performances: April 16-19

For more information, contact Pam Loyd at pamloyd@icloud.com.

On a Sunday in late November, the OLLI Membership Team, pictured, gathered to assemble, stuff, and seal catalogs. In just about half an hour, they put together over 300 mailers. The event was as much a social occasion as it was a working meeting.

"You guys make 'working' so much fun!" said Shelby Gord, one of the Membership Team volunteers. The catalogs were mailed to former members, with a note to invite them back to OLLI, ahead of the Winter Class Preview.

OLLI instructor Gary Hendrickson has been bringing his personal experiences from his participation in military, agricultural, and aerial firefighting aviation to OLLI. This winter, he continues with Aviation History: Aviation Vignettes.

The class will include stories from the early days of flight to modern adventures of the 21st Century. You'll learn about airplanes and the characters who flew them, from Orville Wright to Burt Rutan. The class is hybrid, which means you can attend in person or online, and recorded so you can catch up if you miss a class.

Register now for Aviation History: Aviation Vignettes and learn from Gary's experiences this winter.

TRAVEL AND LEARN WITH OLLI

Discover the Best of Eastern Canadian Cities, Fall '26

From the old-world style of Quebec City to the power of Niagara Falls, say bienvenue to Eastern Canada. Visit charming Canadian cities, learn about maple syrup making, and walk cobblestone streets. An unforgettable experience awaits as you venture along picturesque countryside and glistening skyscrapers. Your 9 days and 12 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the Discover the Best of Eastern Canadian Cities full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

Spotlight on New York City, Fall '26

Start spreading the news! This extended Spotlight on New York City tour makes the most of a single hotel stay to explore Manhattan and Brooklyn. Experience the best of the "Big Apple" from Rockefeller Center to Greenwich Village and across the Brooklyn Bridge. Your 7 days and 8 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the Spotlight on New York City full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

Discover South Pacific Wonders, Fall '26

Experience Queenstown, cruise Sydney Harbour, and discover the wonders of Aboriginal culture on this incredible journey through New Zealand and Australia. From the ethereal beauty of New Zealand's glacial fjords to the tropical splendor of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, enjoy the best of the South Pacific. Your 18 days and 28 meals will be guided by seasoned tour guides from Collette.

View the Discover South Pacific Wonders full itinerary (pdf) and book now for discounted rates.

January is National Poverty in America Awareness Month. The US Census Bureau uses two measures to define poverty. The official poverty rate is based on a calculation that hasn't changed since it was developed in the 1960s; the Census Bureau's Supplemental Poverty Measure includes both living expenses and noncash governmental benefits to give a better picture of how many people in the US do not have enough resources to meet their basic needs.

 In 2024, the poverty rate in the US as measured by the official poverty measure was 10.6%, a slight decrease from the year before. The rate as measured by the supplemental poverty measure was 12.9%, unchanged from 2023. You can learn more from the US Census Bureau's Poverty in the United States: 2024 report.

Ongoing

December 17-30

January 1

January 2

January 4

January 5

January 19

March 13

March 15

Winter Social Meetups

Winter Break (OLLI Closed)

New Year's Day (OLLI Closed)

Special OLLI Friday Office Hours 9am-2pm

Winter Social Meetups End

First Day of Winter Classes

Martin Luther King Jr. Day (No Classes, OLLI Closed)

Last Day of Winter Classes

Winter Social Meetups Begin